


Until We Go Down

by Ky_Bentley



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies)
Genre: And family angst, Angst and Feels, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, CPR, Cranks!!!, DENVER DENVER DENVER (the crowd cheers), Drinking, Drowning, Gally Deserves Love, Gen, HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE, Heavy Angst, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Lee needs love, Men Crying, Scorch is a dangerous place, Some Fluff, Stars will never be the same, The Last City, The Right Arm, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, WCKD is back, WE'RE SCREWED, WICKED | WCKD (World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department), Women Being Awesome, shit is gonna go down, there's no going back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2019-07-15 00:53:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 177,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16052084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ky_Bentley/pseuds/Ky_Bentley
Summary: Within a Water Labyrinth, a group teenagers with no memories who call themselves Islers fight to try and stay alive in harsh conditions that they're forced to deal with day-to-day by a corporation called WCKD.





	1. PART 1: Prologue

The sky rumbles, darkening a bit before a glimpse of daylight breaks and shines down on the soft sandy soil as ducks from nearby quack, waddling over to the edge of the beach and drink up the freshwater. Seven of the females were up, moving about and once they seen the birds gulping the sweet nectar, they knew that it was Day 5 which meant sunny weather. They dressed accordingly, packing up what they’d need; all except for one that still slept on the ground, on her matt, with a fleece blanket covering her.

“Ky.” Her friend whispers, bending down to her level.

She awakes groggily, hazel eyes flickering open and catch sight of Jess’s blue ones. It takes Ky a while to remember where she is, what’s going on, and most importantly, what time it is. The day’s light is dim blue with rays of sun and a cool breeze blows through, nipping at her skin which arises goosebumps.

“Come on, it’s time to head on out with Bia and the other mucks.” Jess nods, straightening out her back and heads away towards where their boats were set up for traveling out in their Labyrinth.

Ky takes a moment to compose herself, slowly reclining up from her mat and eyed the concrete walls that haunted her and the rest of her group for a few months now. They—towering high, thick, and covered in algae at the bottom where the water level remained—were menacing to look at for everyone. Most days they tried to ignore them, act like they weren’t real but it got harder to do that when the sun would rise through the clouds, casting the wall’s shadows down on their Isle.

"We don't belong here." She mumbled to herself. 

Eight months. It had been eight long months of living there.

 

Ky heads out on a boat with Jess, Bia, and Faia while the other four Nicole, Jennifer, Sasha, and Jordan were on their own. They row themselves through the archway of the Labyrinth, taking their time like the four times before. None of them figured of heading out until Bia had mentioned something and they followed her suggestion since she was the first to come up in the Cube, marking her as the one in charge.

Jess’s eyes scanned the area, eyeing the tops of the walls to see where to go; keeping an look out for any dead ends that might appear. “Did you know that Labyrinth means a complicated network of irregular passages in which it’s difficult to find one's way out?”

Faia eyed her, dumbfounded. “You couldn’t remember your name for four days and _yet_ , you can recall what the definition of a Labyrinth is?”

She shrugs simply, proud of herself and her knowledge. “Maybe the Masterminds just wanted you, Jackwagons, to have a smart Isler.”

“Or you’re one of them!” Jennifer calls over from her boat jokingly, having overheard them speaking which wasn’t a hard thing to do since the walls made it easy for voices to bounce off one another despite it being made of concrete. “I place money on nit!”

“I’ll take you up on that, and when we’re out of here, you can buy me a puppy!”

“What will you name it?” Bia asks, glancing over her shoulder as she kept on rowing the oars with Ky’s help.

“I want a black and white pup, make sure it’s a girl, and name her Powder.” Jess smiled wide. “Little pupper Powder.”

“Sounds cute, Jess.” Faia remarked, lightly smiling. “Then, will you buy a golden male dog and name him Glaze?”

The girls begin laughing, chuckling and Jess playfully splashes her with water. The reflecting laughter doesn’t give up as they kept on chuckling, all eight of them cupping water and throwing it on one another. This was the most fun that they had in a while and it felt nice for them to properly forget.

Unbeknownst to them, splattering water and giggling, it caused a stir in the water below them. One moment they’re laughing and the next, Bia, Jess, Faia, and Ky’s boat is struck by something from underneath, causing them to still silently in confusion and paranoia.   

“What the plop was that?!” Faia loudly whispers to Bia as she leaned over the side, inspecting the water.

“No idea.” Bia mumbled.

Ky stayed calm, placing her hand on the water’s surface, trying to detect for movement as if she had sonar. 

Sasha watches them with amusement as she dropped the remaining water that she had scooped up in her hands. “You guys are such babies! It’s nothing! Probably were playing around too much and spooked yourselves.”

Bia was about to speak but Ky raised her other hand, signaling her to be quiet and not speak. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her bones. All of their previous journeys had been quiet and lightly talked over but with this one time being loud, they felt something hit their boat? Yeah, something was _definitely_ wrong.

“Guys, come on!” Jordan shouts annoyed, “move your arses and let’s try to find a way ou—” she gets cut off as their boat gets launched five feet up into the air, throwing out the girls into the water with little to no effort.

Faia, Jess, and Bia watched in horror, shouting to the girls if they were okay while Ky felt the water getting extremely warm. She glanced down, freezing in place as she spotted a large disembodied figure swimming towards where the girls fell overboard. Fear struck her, hollowing her inside and out to the point that words couldn’t be pressed from her throat to warn them.

Jennifer tried turning their boat under and in doing so, she was yanked down forcibly. Sasha, Nicole, and Jordan screamed, shouting, wondering what had happened to her and began climbing on top of their flipped, wooden vessel. Jordan was the first up, helping Nicole while Sasha struggled with kicking feet to try and get leverage. As her right foot went back, hovering over the water, a long, slender, slimy pink thing shot from the surface, looping around her ankle.

Sasha whips her head back, seeing it. “What the muck is that?!” She screams so loud that Ky isn’t surprised that her eardrums didn’t begin bleeding.

Jess eyed it, trying to study it with all of the chaos going on. She made note of the small nodules on the taffy looking structure, shaking her head in horror just then. “It’s a tongue! It’s a tongue!”

“There’s a monster in the water!” Faia shrieks, pointing at the tongue.

Nicole and Jordan cling to Sasha’s wrists, trying to pull against whatever the creature was Ky knew that they wouldn’t win. She seen the size of it,  there was no way two girls who weighed about a hundred and thirty pounds were going to win.

Bia stood, tightening her pants belt. “Jackwagons, come on! They need our help!”

“Bia, with a tongue that big, the monster can gulp us whole in one bite!” Jess exclaimed, eyeing her. “I understand you’re the boss around here but this is something we can’t win!”

“Move, you splintface!” She shoved Jess off to the side, taking out her small pocket knife that she kept on her at all times and dove right into the water.

“Bianca!” Faia called after her, worried, which prompt her to head on in as well.

Jess and Ky watched, completely in shock over the whole thing. These two girls just headed into unknown territory and risking their lives for their comrades. Was it selfish of Jess and Ky not to follow in Bia’s footsteps? Maybe. But, they also knew that playing it smart was a better option for survival.

Bia swam towards the tongue that traveled itself around Sasha’s leg, lifting her small knife that she used to cut their livestock open, bringing it down and stabbed it into the dark pink squishiness. Big air bubbles bubbled up to the surface, letting her know that it wailed in agony and she pulled out the blade, the monster releasing. Sasha scurried up onto the boat, holding her ankle that was now black and blue while being soothed by Jordan and Nicole to the best of their abilities.

“Where’s your oars!?” Bia asked in a frantic voice, searching around.

“Over there!” Jordan shouts, pointing at them as they floated off down one of the corridors.

Suddenly it was a race against time, Bia working her arms and legs through the water. Paddle, paddle, paddle, breath. Paddle, paddle, paddle, breath. She kept on swimming.

Faia quickly checked Sasha’s ankle, making sure nothing was broken and keeping still as possible while trying to stay afloat. Her dark brown eyebrows are knitted together in determination, the checklist going off in her head to make sure she was taking the right precautions and keeping an eye out for the correct signs of trauma.

Jess frantically was darting her sight back and forth between Bia and the other girls while Ky just eyed the water, seeing how calm it became after the attack. She knew that nothing would give up that easily especially if it were monster that just killed off one of their dear friends. Her mind went to that cliche of, ‘It’s quiet. Too quiet’. Something was boiling over and the steam was beginning to whistle.

“Faia, get back in the boat.”

She gives Ky a side glance. “What?”

“Get back. In the boat.”

“No! I need to tend to—”

“Faia, _please_. Get back in this goddamn boat!” Ky shouted.

The water level began lowering, receding off to the right and they looked in that direction, seeing a huge mass, skimming just directly under the water’s exterior, towards Faia and the flipped over boat. It looked malicious in every sense of the word.

“Get on the boat now!”

Faia began swimming back from the girl’s boat, leaving them in tears as she repeatedly apologized for it. Once she made it, Jess and Ky helped her up and in, studying the monster as it dove back down as it approached the boat.

Seconds pass and Bia shouts from where she was, heading on back. “Got ‘em!”

“Oh no,” Jess mumbles, “it wasn’t after Faia.”

Ky’s hazel eyes grew big and she shook her head. “No, no. We have to do something!”

“What are we supposed to do? She’s far out there!”

“Distract it.” Ky grabbed the one oar that she used to row and whacked it off the side of the boat.

She began hollering, adding to the sound that she was already creating to be louder. Faia then joined in, grabbing Bia’s oar and Jess, she looped in the other girls to try and help with noise making. Sasha was too scared but Jordan and Nicole were willing participants, hitting the top of their capsized boat.

The makeshift noises formed one voice and overpowered everything; Ky grinned at this. In her mind, she knew that the noises from underneath in the water would be louder and coming from all directions since the walls reflected the noise. But at this time, she didn’t know.

Sasha, Nicole, and Jordan’s boat is suddenly lifted up into the air, caught in between two dark blue platforms that had three sharp, pointed rows of discolored rocks _._ Then the infamous tongue made its appearance; punctured, bleeding red, and thrashing about. That’s when Ky knew that those weren’t rocks, they were teeth and the platforms were jaws.

Before any word could be spoken, any scream could be heard, the jaws enclosed on the girls, snapping its mouth tightly closed and disappeared back into the water.

Faia and Jess stayed in shock, feeling drained in that very moment while Ky fell back, her mind in a daze, looping what she’d witnessed over and over again. Her body was paralyzed, frozen.

Everything in the next moment was completely incoherent to her.

Bia witnessed what the girls had, working her arms to get to their boat but was yanked under by the same tongue that held Sasha captive. She struggled, now understanding how much pain Sasha was in from the extreme rough grip of the creature. It had stung like mad hornets as if the tongue itself was made up of them, stinging her all at once in the knees. Her muscles felt sore, lungs tight, and herself weak; she couldn’t bear a minute longer. Taking her knife and jabbing at the tongue time and time again until a red cloud formed around her body, she grew free, racing to the top.

“Help!” Bia coughed up, struggling with her swimming as her knees ached and throbbed, screaming for her to stop. “Guys, help me!”

Ky paddled their boat over by herself, using all the arm strength that she could possibly manage while Jess and Faia reached out for their friend, grabbing her arms and hoisting her up and into the boat. Without a second thought, Ky turned the vessel around, heading straight on back to their Isle.

Bia’s legs kept on twitching uncontrollably as Jess tried to restrain them and Faia rolled up her soaking jeans, seeing bulbous red bumps from the severe soreness that the monster’s tongue left her with. Faia paused, she didn’t know what to do to help with the pain, not until they made it back to safety—which seemed not that far off since Ky was working fast, gliding them through the water.

“I-It’s tongue!” Bia shrieked through a whimper. “It stings and crushes you!”

“Probably to render us helpless.” Jess thought it on through, you could actually see the gears turning behind her eyes. “The stings would put us in a shock, making our muscles lock up on us then crushes, yanking us down under to drown.”

“Or just eats you.” Faia’s brown eyes teared up, finally growing weak since the moment passed and she was finally able to process the proper emotions. “They’re gone. It’s just us now.”

 

Once the four reached the Isle, they hurried with placing Bia in the infirmary shack, Faia getting to the small stack of medicine that they’ve gotten from the Cube a few times, reading through the labels and finding what would help.

Supplied, Bia trailed her blue eyes on the three Islers and made mental notes of them. Faia was drenched from having gone into the water, Jess was dry except for her arms, and Ky was completely untouched by water, her hair wild, uncombed and chest raising up and down fast since she, all by herself, sailed them back to their little island.

She takes a short draw of breath. “From n-now on, no one goes out there in the Labyrinth. Is that understood?”

Faia and Jess automatically nod, both agreeing and saying, “Understood.”

But Ky doesn’t. “What? Bia, you said it yourself a while ago . . The Labyrinth is our way out of here so we should explore it.”

“That was before I knew it was dangerous.”

“Who says that they’re not going to come in here?”

“They haven’t before.”

She scoffed. “Bia, that doesn’t mean that they won’t!”

“Ky, listen to me. We’re not going out there anymore.” Bia raised her voice, sitting up on the cot and rests her back against the wall. “I mean it, alright? We already lost four of us! All in one day! No one is allowed out there!”

Ky kept quiet, sulking back and took a seat.

“Bless it be.” Bia remarked, clearing her throat. “Now, since we lost Nicole, Jordan, Sasha, and Jennifer, we’re going to have to take on their roles here until more Misfits show. Faia, you’ll probably won’t need to be a full time Caregiver so you’ll take on being a Preparer. Jess, you’ll be a Seeder. Ky, a Planner. And I’ll be the Preparer since I’m already a Portioner.”

Not wanting to argue, they agreed and Bia told them that they’ll all start their newest jobs tomorrow and that they’ll create an area somewhere on the Isle to remember their fallen sisters. The three concurred and Faia politely dismissed Jess and Ky so Bia could rest for the rest of the night though the sun was still up and had about three hours of daylight left.

 _Eight months,_ Ky uttered in her brain, _eight months we’ve been here. Had eight girls, now we’re down to four._

Jess glanced to her friend, seeing the look on her face and the bud of her tongue sticking out of her two lips; she knew that Ky was deep in thought. “Hey, Ky. What you thinkin’?”

She retreated her tongue back in, sheltering it behind her closed teeth and shook her head. “We’re going to be here for a long time, and I . . I don’t think I’ll be able to handle that.”

Jess came to a stop, resting her hand on Ky’s shoulder. “I’m always here if you need to talk, you know that, right?”

“Yeah. I do. I guess, I just—”

“If you’re going to say that you’re thinkin’ of  sneaking out there in that Labyrinth, I swear, I’ll throw you into the Hoosegow for being daft.”

Ky broke into a smile and Jess laughed.

“But I’m serious, I will. And you’ll have no food for the night.” A pause. “And those monsters out there, they’re a force to be reckoned with. They’re _literally_ death. Like, proper symbols of impending doom for us Islers.”

Ky stifled a snort. “Like harbingers,” she then furrowed her brow, thinking about the name and goggled Jess. “Harbingers.” She claimed.

Jess didn’t say anything back, only patted her shoulder then strolled off to go to her sleeping area.

Ky watched as she left, eyes drifting off to the high walls of the Labyrinth and finally to the blue sky that had no clouds in sight. She stared at it for the longest time, somehow wanting to be apart of it because it looked delicate and soft like cotton. Longing for something out of reach isn’t impossible but when you can’t jump, it is.

And at this moment, Ky couldn’t. She had to stay where she was just a bit more longer. Or at least, until night fell and everyone was asleep.


	2. PART 1: Twenty-Seven Months

It had been officially twenty-seven months of being in the Isle for Jess, Ky, Bia, and Faia. Twenty-seven longs months of hard work, giving jobs, helping the Misfits until they remembered their names, organizing, and of course, living.

Jess made a map of the Isle so everyone knew where everything was located and even did a weather chart to let the community know what to expect since there was a pattern to it.

 

**WEATHER OF THE ISLE**

**DAY 1:** When Bia first arrived, she said that there was heavy rain and lightning and she had to go through it all by herself. So on Day 1, we get severe storms.

**DAY 2 & 3:** The mornings are cold from rain and the afternoons are warm, creating a muggy atmosphere. These days are the worst.

**DAY 4:** Light showers. No problems here.

**DAY 5** : Bless it be! It’s sunny, hot and the air is cool and crisp. Absolutely perfect.

**DAY 6:** More rain. Boo!  
  
**DAY 7:** Thunderbolts and lightning! Sounds like someone is bowling in the sky. And after this day, the cycle goes back to Day 1 which gives us a storm.

 

Many of the Misfits believed that they were kidding about the constant gloomy forecast but until they experienced it for themselves, they got grumpy and swore to the high heavens that it wasn’t fair.

Nineteen months ago after the accident had happened, Jess, Bia, Ky, and Faia all welcomed in a girl with long dirty blonde hair that shined like gold, fair skin, and had a weird dialect of speaking. Instead of the normal “huh” whenever someone got confused, she’d say “eh”. Rather than asking, “how’s it going”, she’d say, “how she’s bootin’er”. Though strange, the girls still cared for her since she was now one of them.

In two days she remembered her name which was Lina and Bia thought it was fitting because it sounded beautiful and Lina was, indeed, beautiful.

She tried out for being a Caregiver but got squeamish whenever Bia accidently sliced her hand open from butchering their livestock for dinner. She didn’t try to be a Portioner due to killing animals, being a Planner didn’t work either for her since she ended up hammering screws into the wood planks rather than nails. She did take a shot at being a Preparer and from that, Jess ended up getting food poisoning.

Lina finally found her calling with working in their small patch of being a Seeder. She enjoyed being around the sage, stonecrop, and giant allium flowers. It provided her with comfort and easiness which she desperately needed. 

Then, as they always did with newest Islers, they guided her to the water that she seemed to fear for her to see her reflection. Her dark blue eyes, dirty blonde hair, and the facial structure that seemed to give off the impression that she was about seventeen years old. Lina was stricken by her features, smiling wide at herself and carefully stepped away from the water to thank the girls for being kind in her time of confusion. They told her that it was alright and that that they've all been through it. 

The next month, another girl showed and her name was Hayley. She was very shy and talked weird like Lina but there was more of a difference; she said “bloody” a lot and the word acere when referring to one of the Islers. Within a few weeks, they guessed that acere meant friend and stuck with it.

With Hayley, she actually came up with her own job since she wanted to help out others who’d need it if they were too busy or needed an extra hand to get things ready. Ky was fond of the idea and decided to give it the name of being a Poucher. She, too, was blonde haired but it was short length. Had blue eyes but they seemed lighter than Lina's. Was about the age of seventeen but possibly an older seventeen then from what Lina was. 

As the months progressed, there came up Amirah who was either around sixteen or seventeen, had short brown hair that went to her chest, dark hazel eyes, and very tan skin. She complained Hayley with being a Poucher and wore cloth around her head and face, sheltering her hair away and none of the girls asked about it; most them just thought that she wanted to keep it from getting wet and humidified like Jess, Hayley, and Ky. Micky, who had hazel blue eyes, short light blonde hair, she had a different style of talking as well and she kinda spooked everyone at first because she never spoke until Amirah threw something at a fish swimming in the water and suddenly, just whispered a "yeet". No one understood what that meant but left her alone and guessed that she was about sixteen whereas Jess was stunned that her voice had a certain delivery. She became a Seeder with Lina. 

A girl that spoke exactly like Lina came up and her name was Jo; the girls believed that she could've been Lina's twin from her long blonde hair and greenish-blue eyes. She also seemed to be seventeen and joined Bia with being a Portioner, cutting up a few ducks and gutting fish to have for their lunches, dinner, and of course, breakfast. 

Sarah was the next, about seventeen, short brown hair and brown eyes, looked to be a mix of Asian and Caucasian. She wore glasses which made a few of the girls interested in them, having never seen them before and even tried them on. A few ended up messing with their sight but it got better before it got worse. She tried being a Planner but hit her thumb repeatedly to the point that her nail cracked, getting fixed up by Faia and Jess. From the injury, she was placed on Seeder duty and since then, kept the job. 

The next Misfit is what threw all the girls for a loop. Instead of the normal female, it was a male. Micky took one look at him inside of the Cube, yelling out "disgusting". He had hazel eyes, light brown hair, white skinned, and about the age of sixteen. Bia hoisted him out, resting him on the ground and welcomed him to the Isle. His eyes lingered onto all of the girls before he instantly threw up and passed out. Jess and Faia took him to the infirmary shack, settling him into a cot until he awoke. Took about two days for him to recover and as he did, he told the girls that his name was Owe and he had a talent for cooking. That night, they put him to the test of being a Preparer and as he proved his worthiness, it became his job. 

Two more boys came up in the Cube, the first boy was named James; blue eyes, brown hair, fair skinned, accent was rich and thick, and said "bloody" like Hayley did at times. He was about seventeen and became a Preparer with Owe. The other was named Dean; sandy blond hair, green eyes, seemed to be the eldest of the Isle, appearing to be about eighteen turning nineteen. He wanted the easiest job which gave him the role of being a Slosher; someone who cleans up everything in the Isle. 

When the Cube came up the next month, it held someone with pale skin, golden blonde hair, and grey eyes; around the age of fifteen. Owe eyed them and scoffed. "Another girl! I wanted there to be more boys." 

In that very moment, the person snapped their attention to him. "I'm neither, alright?! I'm a They, and my name is Quinn, you dipshit." All the girls began laughing as well as James and Dean before Owe retreated back, nervous. "And if you guys can't call me either, than you can call me nothing." 

James and Dean helped Quinn on out, dusting them off and asked if they were alright. Quinn nodded, coughing, glancing out the place and didn't even ask questions which odd for a Misfit; not to mention speaking out and saying that much. Instead, Quinn just took off their boots that they had on, ran to the beach and placed their feet into the water. Turns out, they enjoyed cooking as well and decided to be partners with Owe, kinda up-showing him in his perfection. Rivalry was there but with weeks passing, they made do.

Next came a purple haired girl by the name of Des who looked about eighteen, was white, and had blue-grey eyes. Her demeanor seemed off putting like she was ready to kill and that caused the Islers to be on edge until Ky was the first to make an attempt at speaking with her. Des opened up, actually being quite funny and a sweetheart—at  _most_  times. She took a jab at being a Portioner and ended up slicing her hands on accident to the point of growing angry that she'd throw the knifes at the wooden planks of the barn where the Portioners worked and that grew some wariness. Instead, they moved her to being a Planner to work out her aggression which prompted them gaining more buildings and shacks made since Des would hammer away.  

Bridget—who preferred to be called Bridge for short—arrived, seventeen, blue eyes, blonde hair, Caucasian, and spoke with a different dialect with a few selective words. It didn't match Lina's, Hayley's, James's, or even Micky's for that matter. She sounded normal like Ky, Bia, Jess, Quinn, Dean, and others, but she had a hint of _tang_. She was appointed Planner by Bia and no objections came from of it; she kept quiet, did her part and focused only on her business. 

Maddie, referred to as Mads, was the youngest that the Isle had never seen. She was about fourteen, pale peached skin, hazel eyes, short brown hair like Amirah's. She spoke exactly like James, with "bloody", calling trash "rubbish", and instead of calling them fries, called them "chips". She quickly became friends with Jess and Faia which drew her into wanting to be a Caregiver and of course, Jess and Faia accepted the offer since they needed more help. On spare time, she usually liked to draw in the sand with sticks near the Scullery where Quinn and Owe spent their time cooking. 

By this time, it had been fourteen months since the incident and Ky was feeling herself getting on edge, antsy, needing something to happen since she was so ready to leave that huge prison cell and go somewhere beyond the four curved walls of the Isle. That month, it was like her prayers had been answered because a girl who came to be known as Cass came up—dark brown eyes, medium length of light brown hair, white, the same age as Ky—had a peaked interest regarding the Labyrinth. Once a week had passed and Cass got used to the surroundings and the other Islers, Ky took her to the side, telling her about all that she knew. Cass was even more intrigued, asking Ky to show her and that night, when everyone was asleep, they headed on out their boat. This began her adventure of being a Paddler; the only one asides from Ky. 

Chloe was then up in the Isle, entering the Planner job with her brown hair up in a bun, brown eyes creased, walking with posture of a seventeen year old, being of Asian descent. She was very tan, average built, and very logical when it came to meetings within the Isle at the Convocation on how to improve our little community and make things for tolerable for everyone. She was considerably everyone's friend because she too kind and sweet asides from Des who kinda scared off a few or made them feel like if they said the wrong thing that she'd shove them to the ground. 

The next two girls was one named Samuel; Fiery red hair, pale grey blue eyes, fair skin, tall and thin. And Charlie; dark bronzed skin, green hazel eyes, long brown ombre hair that was dark at the roots but light at the tips. Samuel joined the Sloshers and Charlie went with being a Poucher. 

On a stormy day, the Cube had opened up without anyone's knowledge since the thunder was so loud that no one could properly hear the sirens. Quinn took a glance over, spotting the top open and tapped Ky's shoulder, notifying her about it. She hurried on out in the harsh rain, going to close it but froze, seeing the Cube filling up with water and a Misfit down below, struggling to get a box that fell on top of her one leg. She was already submerged, shouting with air bubbles surfacing, and using her best efforts. Ky shouted, saying that they had a newcomer, hopping into the water that was now about eight feet. Swimming down, she got her hands under the box, placing her feet down and grunted, lifting it up gradually. She girl then got free. 

They both broke the water tension, coughing, getting on out, and resting on the wet sand. "You're lucky to be alive." Ky darted her hazel eyes to the young girl, inspecting her dark blue peers and damp dirty blonde hair. 

"Thanks." The Misfits nodded, "I owe you." A small chuckle escaped her lips as Ky helped her up and took her to the Infirmary Shack to make sure that her leg wasn't damaged. 

After two days the Misfit revealed her name to be Anne to which Ky instantly nicknamed her to Annie Oakley; she didn't know why but it just seemed to roll of the tongue. They quickly bonded with one another, being friendly and making jokes here and there every so often. 

And now, finally, this month the Isle had been blessed with another boy who was named Charles. He was the second tallest boy, ranking around five eight, towering over the girls with his bright blue eyes and light brown hair, and his porcelain complexion. He spoke normally like a few of the others, deeming him as Standard by Bia who was trying to figure out their different types of talk and speech. Chloe was the one that showed him around the Isle, developing a small crush on the guy and many of the others just rolled their eyes. This was _no_ place for romance. Maybe in the future, but not here—not with being in the middle of a Labyrinth that's filled with water and the water contains creatures of the deep. 

Charles was a proper kid, around eighteen years, and got along with everyone including Des. Actually, the two of them ended up spiking Owe's beverage bowl of mead, a mixture of honey brewed with yeast and water, that he had made for Charles's celebratory welcome. People got more tipsy than usual except for the youngsters who weren't allowed to drink; Mads and Quinn by Bia's orders. They still snuck a few sips here and there, but from what Ky, Jess, Anne, and Chloe saw, they just roasted white puffy pillow candies on sticks. 

That night, Hayley played a joke on Charles, calling him Carlos over and over again. Dean and James added on and eventually, so did everyone else. Charles took it on, adapting to the new name of Carlos so now, he was no longer Charles but Carlos. 

"Hayley," Micky spoke up, "why Carlos?" 

She shrugs. "Spanish of Charles is Carlos, I think it fits a like him with some good irony." 

They laughed it off, all doing a group cheer, and forgot their predicament once again. 


	3. PART 1: We Could Be the Heroes

“Ky, can you hear me?”

A voice belonging a girl about two years older than her spoke, echoing in and out as if she were in a tunnel. The view tilts on its side, a darken silhouette of a girl who dark brown hair stood over her, wearing a light blue shirt that had some barcode on the left breast. All around her shined foggy blue and blurred white lights from things within the room.

“I’m sorry we’re sending you in, it wasn’t our intention.” She speaks, distorted. “But we’re expecting great things from you, believe that. Remember, wicked is good.”

 

Ky jolts awake, hearing the Misfit alarm going off in the back which meant that it was late afternoon. She grunted, sitting up from her cot, placing her feet on the floor and rubbing her tired eyes. Her and Cass had went out last night into the Labyrinth, searching three different sections until around five in the morning. They hurried back, sneaking in before getting caught by Bia who normally awoke around six.

The alarm shut off, making Ky perk up her head, waiting to hear word.

“We got another girl!” Hayley shouts throughout the Isle.

“Twenty-eight.” She mumbled, standing and wandering out to see Charlie and Owe helping the child out. And that’s all she was; a child. Around thirteen, Asian, dark brown hair, and brown eyes

The Misfit instantly confined herself into Owe, hugging and holding him tight as he awkwardly enclosed his arms around her small frame, being unsure of what to do. A few “awed” at the scene before them whereas Bia silently walked off with Lina, Jess, Faia, Hayley, Amirah, and Micky following. Ky thought it was peculiar since they’re considered Originals just like her and yet, no one signaled to her to join them for what she already knew was a talk.

Ky was about to follow but Charles stopped her, clearing his throat. “Hey, Ky. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Aren’t you doing so now?” She teased, trying to place a smile on her face but it wasn’t happening; faulting miserably.  

“I’ve heard that the Originals been speaking of you.”

“Me?” Charles nods. “Why’s that?”

“Word is that Bridget had dream that involved you with the Masterminds. Like you were working with them and doing experiments with some boy.” He sighs, placing a hand over his eyes since it was Day 5. Sunny weather. “It got around this s’mornin’ and Bia heard, calling a meeting for them to discuss.”

“Great.” Ky murmured, gazing over at the Convocation Hut, folding arms in front of her chest with an exhale. “Probably exile me.”

“I won’t let that happen,” he instantly defended then reworded the phrase, “ _we_ won’t let that happen.”

“‘ _We_ ’?” She inquired.

A chuckle escaped his lips. “You really don’t think that some of us would have your back? Anne, Cass, James, Micky, Mads, Chlo, Sammy, Charlie, Owe, Quinneth, Dean—we all are on your side. I’m not sure about the others.”

“Guess we’ll see when they’re done.”

 

It was around dinner time when the Originals finally came out of the Convocation Hut, all keeping silent and stares on the ground as they walked which only meant that many of them had fought with their opinions.

Jess lifted her head, peering over at me and gave me a sly smile. _Well, at least I have one friend with them_ , Ky thought to herself and continued on with eating her sandwich that James had specially made for her.

Bia and Lina rounded at the top of the tables, standing in center and cleared their throats to capture everyone’s attention before speaking. “As many of you know, there’s been a disclaimer that roamed around this very Isle in the morning. Bridge,” she motions towards her, “has had a dream where she believed to have seen Ky workin’ with the Masterminds. Now, this is very strange for many reasons. One; none of us remember anything from our previous lives, only our names. Two; even if Ky did work with them, then why is she here with us? And three; I’ve never dreamed in this place and if I haven’t, I’m sure as well that no one else has.”

A few Islers nodded their heads, confirming that her statement of dreaming was correct. Whereas Ky just sulked back, now feeling weird of herself because for the past three days, she’d been having vivid nightmares of being in some medical place with a girl speaking to her, telling her the same thing over and over again. That wicked is good. Whatever wicked was.

“We’re a family now. Nothing that has happened before matters. Bless it be?”

“Bless it be.” They all chorused in an agreement except for the Misfit who was still clinging onto Owe, not leaving his side as it was his day off from working in the Scullery.

Bia and Lina headed off to their jobs with the others while Cass walked past them, taking a seat next to Ky and eyed her in silence for a few minutes before taking in a deep breath. “We should get going soon.”

“It’s a sunny day, maybe we take a break?”

“And why do that? Only real dafts would pull something like that. Lazy mucks.” She stifles a laugh, shaking her head and pulling an apple from her cargo shorts, her teeth piercing the yellow skin and ripping a chunk out to chew.

The juice of the apple glistens her chapped lips as she eats, her brown eyes scanning the Isle of it’s inhabits that relied on them for finding a way out even if they didn’t know that they’ve been secretly wandering around beyond the walls. They were all too busy to notice.

“Is it because of Bridget?” Cass mumbled out and around her chewing, swallowing, taking another bite. “Because if it is, that’s some plop. We’re trying to help them on out of this prison.”

“It’s not just that,” Ky finished up her sandwich, wiping her hands. “The Misfit is here and if we dip on out for her celebration, they’re going to wonder why we’re not there and try to find us.”

She scoffs. “Damn, you’re right. Forgot about that.”

Ky nodded, peering over at the Cube to see Jo, Chloe, Samuel, and Dean unloading it with supplies that they’ve asked for a week ago by placing papers with written requests on them in the small room, shutting the doors so it could be sent on down.

People asked for a lot of things; some range from newer shoes, clothes, seeds to plant for actual proper food, even soil so food to grow is better. Mads asked for something that could make music and few of the Islers thought it was a dumb idea but lo and behold, she was pulling out a black box that had many buttons, compartments, and some little cases that came with it. It had ran on batteries so every month, she asked for a few and replaced the old ones, supplying us with some rhythm which made rainy days bearable and fun.

Ky's favorite was a tape that held a song with the lyrics, _"I bless the rains down in Africa"_. She'd sing it loud and obnoxiously which some enjoyed and others thought it was annoying to say the least. But it didn't matter, it helped out with her anxiety that she'd been receiving from being confined in a small place for two years.

Chloe pulls a book out, wiping it off and carries it on over to Jess. She takes one look at it, cheering loudly, “Thank you! Thank you!”.

“Think she got her book of regions?” Anne struts over, taking a seat next to Ky with her own turkey and cheese sandwich with the crust cut off, something Quinn always did for her, taking a bite.

“Probably,” Cass smiles, overlooking how happy Jess was. “She’s been dying to know what nationality Hayley, Mads, Jack, Lina, and all them are. Why they speak and look differently than us . . . Got a knack for knowledge.”

Anne shrugged. “Maybe she’s secretly a Mastermind and she’s spying on us.” She and Cass then laughed.

Ky lost her smile, thinking back to when Jennifer said that Jess was one and immediately stood up, excusing herself and going down on the left beach to help with setting up the celebration for the Misfit. She just had to get her head out from where it was before the anxiety crept up and exploded from her chest, gripping onto her shoulders and sending a current of heat throughout her arms, head, and legs.

Micky handed her a banner, telling her to hang it on up while Sarah and Amirah worked on the fire pile, Charlie organizing her makeshift game, Mads restocking her music player with batteries, and Des got the lantern jars ready as the sun as beginning to dim behind the great grey concrete walls.

_Twenty-eight Islers. Twenty-eight Islers, and it’s been two years._ Ky mentally grumbled, helping with stringing up the banner that they’ve made a long time ago that said, “Welcome Misfit”.

Faia thought that having it would feel more warming to the newcomers and to a vote, they agreed and created paint from plants that they had; using their fingers to write out the letters. It was a fairly easy process and the girls were excited that it came out perfect except for Des who believed that it was lacking red.

Micky got the one side, fixing it and Ky handed her the other section, pinning it with ease and exhaled happily. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Superb.” Ky nodded, looking up at it as Mick got down from the wooden ladder that was propped up against the one Ceiba tree that was covered in a strangler fig. The strangler fig made it seem like a huge spider’s web resided on it, just waiting for a human to get close in order to trap and tangle it up in its roots. A bunch of them were located in the Necropolis portion of the Isle but this was the only one that was outside of the area, on the beach, nearby the water.

Des calls out to Micky and Ky, making them head on over to help her with the lanterns by placing them up on the strings that hung down from the trees and on the post holders that the Planners made for late night bonfires.

By the time that they got everything ready, the sun had gone down, the air got cool with small gusts blowing in from the Labyrinth’s entrance. The bonfire was started by the Originals, this time Ky included, all inspirit and clinking their mason jars with one another as the event took off.

Owe was guiding the Misfit around and introducing her to all the Islers which seemed to make her at ease but still, she kept a tight grip on his hand; refusing to leave his side as they circled around. On through Bia, Micky, Dean, Mads, Quinn, Anne, Jo, Sarah, James, Chloe, Lina, and a few others, Owe and her finally made way to Des, Ky, Charles, and Hayley.

“Guys,” Owe smiled, the fire casting a soft orange glow on his face, “this is the newcomer. Newcomer, this right here,”—he motioned towards the purple haired girl—“Is Des.”

She gulps back her mead, setting the empty jar down and rocks forwards on the log that she sat on. “Hi there, you alright?” Des asks kindly but the girl doesn’t speak. “You like knives? ‘Cause I have a special one.”

“ _Des!_ ” Charles loudly whispered at her. “Don’t hand a knife to a child. You’ll scare her more.”

“Where’d you even get a knife from?” Hayley questioned, raising her one eyebrow.

“Asked for it, the Masterminds gave me it.” Des snickers, reaching into her pants pocket, taking it out to reveal the curved knife that had a ridged spine like a saw for cutting something hard like wood, a sharp point, black slender handle, and honed edge. “Maybe they’re not so bad after all.”

Ky nodded, reaching over diligently, taking the knife from Des and handing it to Charles. “Last time you had something sharp in your hands, you threw it at Dean’s head.”

“He was walking in the line of fire.” She defended.

“You threw it at him when he tried opening the door to the privy.”

Des scoffed playfully. “And that’s where I like to practice my throwing skills.”

Ky let out a small laugh, looking at the little one and held out her hand. “I’m Ky but if you want, you can call me K. It’s my nickname. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I won’t mind it.”

The Misfit nods, taking Ky’s hand in hers, giving it a small up and down shake before removing away. Owe glanced down at her, still holding onto her other hand and gave it a squeeze which made her brown eyes look up to his hazel ones.

“And this is why I like Ky, she’s kind and a good person. Not so much Des, she kinda scares me.”

Des rolls her eyes. “It’s because you’re a splintface, and not manly like James other there.” She smirks, looking pass Owe at him, seeing James cooking some strips of bacon for the Islers that got hungry while drinking; Cass helping him out and Micky drinking, spectating them. “Muscular, slim, very good lookin’.”

Ky side glanced to her, feeling out of place and excused herself to go and talk to Anne.

She strolled on over, bypassing Mads who was playing her music while painting, Amirah, Sarah, Bia, and Jo playing some game, Jess who was reading her book with Faia and Lina, and Samuel who was french braiding Chloe’s hair. Charlie then hung out by the fire, roasting the white fluff pouches on a stick with Bridget, Dean, Anne, and Quinn.

Ky brought herself to a stop, seeing how Anne was laughing, enjoying her time with Quinn. Anne had one of the white puffs that was now roasted, hand feeding it to Quinn who was smiling wide. Once she got it close to Quinn’s mouth, she smashed it in their face, smearing the fluff all over and Quinn shouted in a giggle. Anne scurried, running off and Quinn chased after in pursuit, tackling her to the ground and pinned her arms down. Anne kept on laughing, trying to jerk her face all around as Quinn leaned down, rubbing the fluff off their face onto Anne’s.

Ky let out a small chuckle, slowly turning, and heading down to the right side of the beach, sitting down in the sand. Propping her legs up, resting elbows on her knees, fumbling with her fingers and peering out over the body of freshwater and into the Labyrinth. In the background the muffled music echoes, the laughing seems so distant, and the tiny waves that rolled in on the shore were soothing that Ky rested her eyes by gingerly closing them. Peace and serenity effortlessly seeping into her bones, finding home and calming the nerves that tried to stay.

“You alright there?” She opens her eyes, glancing up to her left, seeing James smiling down at her as he took a squat. He clears his throat, getting in the same position as her, staring out. “Beautiful, kinda . . Agree?”

She nods.

“How come you’re not up there with the Misfit?”

“Why aren’t you?” Ky retorts, looking at him to see that his blue eyes were already on her, lips curving into a smile.

James shrugs. “I couldn’t let you be all by yourself.”

“What about your infamous bacon?”

“Cass and Mick got it . . Though,” he pauses, gazing over and Ky does the same, seeing Micky on Cass’s back while she cooked and lifted pieces of bacon up, feeding them to her. “They do things like that and don’t actually get food prepared.”

Ky chuckled. “Mick’s drunk, getting clingy and hungry as usual. There’s no inbetween with her and her mead.”

James turned his head, focusing on her soft hazel eyes and a few strands of hair that blew from the breeze. His lifted his right hand, tucking the fly aways behind her ear tenderly with a sympathetic smile.

Her eyes held his, wondering what he was thinking but it was short lived until Lina announced for the Islers to gather back around the fire for the Misfit Greeting as they called it.

Ky got on up with James’s help, walking up and she sat back down with Des, Hayley, and Charles while James joined Dean, Bridget, Chloe, Samuel, and others. Owe still stood with the little girl holding his hand while Jess joined at his side with Faia. Anne and Quinn came back, their faces now washed and arms around each others’ shoulders, sitting on buckets that were placed upside down.

Lina gave the torch to Bia, having her speak as normal. “Misfit, welcome to the Isle where you’re now one of us. You’ve been sent here and now, you’re apart of our family. As Owe has already told you, you don’t remember your name and that’s okay, none of us did when we first arrived. But you will remember and when you do, you can pick a rock of your choosing from the beach and paint your name on it, then add it to our very own Homage.”

She then pointed over to where twenty-three colorful rocks were located in a spiral by one of the lantern lit trees; each one having certain colors and designs, in many shapes and forms.

_There would’ve been twenty-seven,_ Ky thought to herself, _but we moved Jennifer, Jordan, Sasha, and Nicole’s rocks to the Necropolis to act as headstones._

“We do have rules of the Isle and there’s only four. Rule one, no judgements. Everyone is equal is here no matter what; we’re all in the same condition. Rule two, we don’t harm one another. We’re a family so we must help one another out, not fight. Rule three, we hold no secrets.” Bia’s blue eyes strained, searching the crowd until they found Ky. “We tell each other everything because it’s respectful and our Isle won’t work without trust.”

Des noticed Bia’s intense observation of Ky since they were seated by one another, making note then ignoring it as she presumed.

“And lastly . . . Rule four, we do what we must.” A pause. “We do what we must for our survival, our friends, ourselves, and our Isle.” Bia then raises her mason jar filled with mead, raising it up to the night sky that held stars but no moon. “And with that, we give a warming welcome to our newest member. Bless it be!”

“Bless it be!” All the Islers raised their jars, chrousing together and took big gulps.

_Rororoarrrrrrrr,_ boomed from the Labyrinth having everyone get startled, up on their feet and shooting heads over at the one entrance. Mads immediately shut off her stereo, everyone kept silent, listening, waiting. While Dean, Chloe, and Des moved quick, blowing out the lanterns as James picked up one of the buckets that Anne and Quinn were sitting on, hurrying down to the beach to fill it up. He rushed up, dowsing the fire out.

“W-What was that?” The Misfit asks in a small voice, hiding behind Owe’s one leg.

“It was a Harb—”

“Nothing important.” Bia cut Ky off, nodding. “I believe it’s time to sleep everyone!”

The Islers nodded, following Bia’s advice and left for bed while Ky just stood there, stunned by the fact that Bia stopped her from telling the Misfit the truth even though that was one of their rules of the Isle.

Cass slowly strolled up to behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” she whispers, “I got the things ready. We’re still going, right?”

“Yeah.” She glanced back at her. “Never has a Harbinger made a noise like that. They like to keep quiet unless disturbed, so the fact that it did, something’s going on within that Labyrinth.”

Off Cass went to ready their small boat and Ky headed off to her sleeping area, grabbing her bag and slung it over her shoulder, tightening the straps. She then put on her pair of sneakers that she’d had since coming up from the Cube; they were black with a light pink stripe on the side and a small golden logo of a puma on them.

Ky then grabbed her one scrunchie, placing her hair up into a high ponytail and fixed her white tank top before heading on out but was stopped by Des who had a smug look with her arms propped up on her hips.

“Another late night of Cass and Ky’s Adventure Time?”

She stalled. “You . . You know?” Des nods in response. “You didn’t tell anyone?”  
“You really think I’m goin’ to be the muck that sells yous out even though you’re just tryin’ to help us out of this horrible place?”

“Well, I figured that since Bia—”

“I’m not Bia.” Des dismisses, zipping up her black hoodie and places up the hood over her purple hair. “I’ll cover for you. Go on out there and find us a way out.”

Ky quickly thanked her as Des got settled on the cot, covering herself with the blankets, positioning herself in the same way that Ky always slept; on her side, left hand under the pillow with the right resting in front of her face.

She took a few steps until Des called out but she didn’t hear her clearly, stepping back. “What?”

“I asked if you checked everywhere within the Labyrinth.” She lifts her head, eyeing her for a moment.

Ky bit her bottom lip, nodding. “Yeah . . . But Cass and I are looking back over sections and corridors to see if there’s anything new about them.”

“And below?”

Her brows knitted in confused. “ _‘Below’_?”

“The water . . What about the water? You search it?”

The thought never came to her mind and here now, hearing the suggestion from Des, it was like a light bulb that hasn’t been on in years finally flickered on.

With not being able to properly speak, Ky headed back on out, shaking her head and held onto the back-straps as she headed down to where Cass was standing with the boat already in the water, the oars inside, and lantern in hand. She gave her a nod as always, getting inside and made room for Cass as they pushed off the beach.

About thirty feet out, they took the oars, pressing themselves through the water, approaching the opening of the Labyrinth. Ky looked up the slabs of thick concrete as always, receiving her usual feeling of being like a mouse compared to a towering elephant that was covered in moss. She glances back down, drawing in a deep breath as Cass suggests for them to enter Fraction 4; a corridor of the Labyrinth that opened every other week on Day 5. It was the only section that did so which made it strange and unusual. Ky agrees, steering themselves off.

 

It had been five long hours of searching, taking snaps, snacking, and jokes while searching the fraction. Ky had switched with Cass, moving up in front and took control of watch while it was her turn to rest herself in the back.

She eyed the tops of the walls, rowing their vessel through quietly, taking in the sight of everything and that’s when she noticed something at the very top of the one. She paddled up, seeing a blue light that was pointed directly on them, moving ever so slightly. It didn’t look like anything that Ky had seen before which just sparked her curiosity even more, trying to wrap her head around what it could possibly be.

The light gingerly moved up and over the top of the wall, disappearing from sight; leaving her.

Her head drops, focusing on the water for a moment as she tried to think and seen how the water was moving a certain way; a way that she had never witnessed before. The current went against them rather than with, flowing in a different direction which added a few rifts in the rushing water.

“Cass,” Ky reached behind her, tapping her friend on the shoulder. “Cass, the current is moving.”

“Well yeah,” she responded sarcastically, “that’s how water usually functions.” Annoyed, she then smacked her shoulder which had Cass jolt up in the boat, making it teeter-totter. “The hell was that for?!” She loudly whispered.

“I’m being serious, Cass. Look.” She pointed and Cass peered over the side but made sure to distribute weight so they wouldn’t flip. “See?”

“Huh,” she thinks. “That certainly is strange.”

Instantly, Des’s words reentered Ky’s brain which made her set a deadlock eye on the bottom abyss that was pitched in darkness and certainly home to the infamous Harbinger.

“Ky, what you thinkin’?”

“We always searched the surface . . . but never underneath; the bottom of the water.”

Cass let out a snort. “You’re kidding, right?” Once Ky didn’t say anything, Cass dropped her smile. “You’re actually serious? Ky, you said that a monster lives down there! Now, I never seen it but I’m taking your word for it and if I’m smart to do that then you should be smart not to dive in into the infested waters.”

“Maybe that’s what the Masterminds planned,” Ky finally turned her hazel eyes onto her. “What if they knew that we’d never search the actual water because of the Harbingers? What the Labyrinth was just a setup and the actual way out of this place is down below?”

She gradually stood up, tightening her ponytail to be extra tight and studied the water, her heart pounding throughout her chest and pumping blood through her veins to prepare her body with adrenaline. Her hands began getting sweaty, producing moisture as fear settled into her spine but she knew that she had to do this. Or at least try to.

Cass just looked up at her in horror, shaking her head and then pass her sight of Ky, a bright circular light appeared out of nowhere, shining down a glow upon them to make the eerie-ness of the corridors seem otherworldly; beautiful.

“A moon.” She uttered in pure shock. “An actual moon.”

With the sudden change, the luminescence of the moonlight uncovered the darkness below, revealing the extreme channels of tunnels, caves, and structures covered in moss that was hidden from them all these years.

Angry yet inspired, knowing that it was time to be brave for her community, Ky placed her arms over her head, positioned her feet and body and jumped, arching downwards straight into the water.

Coolness swarmed her, making her clothes hug her body and hair move in any way it wanted. She could hear Cass from above, muffled shouts aiming at her but she didn’t listen as she peeled her eyes, searching the whole new territory of the depths. While scanning the area, Ky spotted a cave that had markings on it and swam on over, working her arms and legs as fast as she could.

The markings were huge; four slashes that were as thick as her hand and the width of her five foot and a half body. _Harbinger._ She thought to herself then continued on, straying away from the cave and swam to a structure that seemed to have something written on it as well as logo. Her fingers danced across the lettering, reading them out to herself as she did. W. C. K. D. Ky furrowed her brow, letting out a cough since her body craved a new gulp of air but didn’t want to leave until she figured out what the four letters meant.

At first, she tried thinking of what they could stand for and that led her to nowhere, making her body tense which added onto to the need of fresh air that her lungs were desperately craving, shriveling up inside her rib cage. Ky then sounded it out in her head and that’s when it made sense. _W.C.K.D . . . Wicked! It spells out wicked!_

Ky placed her shoes on the structure, shoving herself off and up to the surface, moving her arms feverishly as her head began to hurt from no oxygen. Faster and faster she went, higher and higher up until she finally made it, head bursting out and inhaling a massive breath.

“Ky! You scared me to death! Come on, we need to go!”

“Cass,” she panted, blinking her eyes repeatedly. “It has to be down there! The way out!”

“Okay, okay. But we’ll check tomorrow! Let’s _go_.”

Ky shook her head, darting her eyes back down. “I can’t leave. Not yet.”

“Ky!”

“I’m sorry.”

Taking in another breath, Ky dove back down, swimming where the WCKD logo was but was startled when a noise sounded from across the way, having her shoot her attention over in nervousness that it was a Harbinger. Instead, it was part of the Labyrinth's concrete wall, a circular construction, beginning to open up like a flower blossoming in spring.

Intrigued, Ky swam for it cautiously, speeding up before she ran out of air like the last time and entered in the medium sized tunnel. At the end, there was a honey glow that seemed to remind her of sunshine and upon seeing that, she couldn’t help but feel anxious with excitement. Her feet kicking wildly as she swam, moving her arms as fast as they could manage without bulking under pressure, her mouth releasing a few air bubbles.

_Is this it? Finally, the way out?!_

She made it through the end, glancing up at the top of the water to see the sun shining down even though it was just nighttime from where she came from. It was also like a small circular Isle that they already had from underneath; the walls completely wrapped around it, enclosing it and there was like a pedestal that was holding up something from out of the water.

Ky traveled, taking her time just in case it was a trap of some kind, popping her head up and out of the water. Her body was shocked, witnessing a little rope ladder that hung off the structure and she paddled on over, lifting herself up onto the wooden planks, climbing up to witness the place that she had just discovered.

At the top of the base, Ky army crawled, her eyes squinting from exhaustion and rolled onto her back, taking a breather. Even with her eyes closed, the sun beamed down on her, heating her up and making the black that her eyelids created to shelter her eyes a dull, brown orange color. She takes her arm, placing it across her face, exhaling and felt something land on her elbow.

Slowly, Ky withdrew her arm, opening her eyes to see an insect with beautiful wings that looked to be made out of blue glass. Another then landed besides it, having the exact same things except they were purple tinted. Ky then turned her head, seeing a bunch of them of all colors flying around, flapping their wings, and she gasped in amazement. Her eyes then shifted downwards, seeing that she was laying in pure fresh, luscious green grass.

She reclined up, feeling the greenery between her fingers, smiling like crazy and even shed a tear. Oh how Ky missed grass. This made her take off her soggy shoes and socks, standing on her own two feet and feel the grass between her toes which made her giggle. She then took off running, the winged inspects flapping their wings after her as if Ky was leaving a rainbow trail behind her during her joyous run.

She twirled around in pure glee but stopped once setting sight on the exact same blue light that she seen previously out in the Labyrinth's corridor. It still managed to move effortlessly, just dangling. Ky made her way on over, it being within reach and lifted her hand, middle finger grazing the light and it burned brighter than what it already was. She smiled, touching it again and seen how it managed to become even more vibrant than before.

The sun then soften, fading out and night soon settled in, the winged insects growing in loud shrieks as if they were warning Ky but she had no idea what was going on. They all flew in a group, their colors dimming, becoming transparent in the dark.

She then turned, looking at the blue light in front of her that still shined bright, it now pulsing light without her even touching it. Ky stepped on backwards, putting distance her and the light, watching it as her breathing increased and her palms produced sweat again. The light started as a ball but then part of it grew out; traveling up, making a turn then curved around the area.

Her eyes kept on track, watching it as it outlined a huge silhouette that was concealed from the dark. The light’s path then sprouted, branching off into three sections then stopped; still glowing, no longer pulsing.

_Rororoarrrrrrrr._

Ky trembled. “Shit.”

A Harbinger then walked out, towering at an approximation of sixty feet, its head the shape of an alligator with a short gavial snout, displaying it’s many rows of teeth that Ky certainly remembered from that incident. It only had two arms with long talons, a slender body with a ridged spine, and a long tail that held the blue light on the tip.

This was a trap, and Ky fell for it.


	4. PART 1: The Harbinger

The Harbinger let out another rumble of what sounded like a roar mixed with a hiss, its spine glowing with the bright luminescence that had tricked Ky into getting close to it. The four talons were outspread, showing the webbed skin between its fingers that made it swim faster in the water. Razor sharp teeth with a menacing smile, long pink tongue slithering out from the mouth which looked like the bottom had a triangle cut out from it.

Its body turned, showing the spine and the other two sections that the light illuminated, them being fins. By the back of their head, on the elongated neck, there was three gills. On the neck and chest a big white patch displayed, settled there which made it more abnormal since the Harbinger’s skin was grey and had glass looking scales like the wings of the insects. It takes a step with it’s left arm then right, the back end of the tail curling up and lifting off the ground so it doesn’t drag behind him.

In the midst of this, [Ky](https://78.media.tumblr.com/c8797000055befaeb4ff275f095561e0/tumblr_n04z74XreT1rkqmhuo5_250.gif) caught sight of the wall behind him, a section of it was boxed about ten feet wide and tall. Beyond that and down the little walkway, there was another wall but it had structure on it that bulged out, having some type of crank mechanism on it. Next to it was a red blinking light and Ky smiled; this hadn’t been a trick, this is what she’s been searching for for two years and a half. That was their exit from the Isle, the Labyrinth, the suffering, and the isolation.

The Harbinger made its growl again, Ky whipped her head over, seeing it’s gigantic mouth opening with it’s tongue moving about and around as it got ready to strike. Thinking quick on her feet, she ran forwards, going into a dive roll and just got out of the way in time as the Harbinger’s tongue lashed outwards. Ky hurried, getting up onto her bare feet and dashed where the colorful insects had gone. The Harbinger followed, spine, tail, and fins glowing, mouth still wide open and tongue taking every jab it could get.

She took a sharp turn, her foot pivoting off which made her trip, falling hard on her right shoulder. Her body locked up in pain, lips releasing a small whimper as she slowly rolled on over to her back, eyes slowly opening to see that the snout of the Harbinger was only a foot away from her face. Ky’s upper body shifts up, supporting herself on her good arm, sight shifted upwards. She then seen how the monster’s pupils were slit, surrounded by an iris of ember green.  

A low exhale comes from its nostrils, producing a hot wind, making her hair move with little to no effort. Ky gulps, trying to make small movements, hand slipping in her shorts, reaching for the pen that she normally used for writing notes on her palms during venturing. Her fingertips feel the plastic coating, rolling it into her under her knuckles then palm, thumb pressing on the top to unshelter the ink tip.

_Click._ The Harbinger hears the small noise, snarling and belting out a growl with its mouth opening wide.

Ky screams of rage and worry, trying to mask her fear and somehow pull up this wall of strength and armor. Her right arm raises high, wielding the pen and brings it down with an immense amount of force as if it was a Mjolnir. The end finds its way into the outer side of the jaw, piercing the transparent scales which made the Harbinger screech out, retracting away from Ky and tipping its head back to the night sky to continue its wail.

With that free moment, she twisted her body around, sprang up on her feet and ran straight for her shoes. She hurried with slipping them on, not bothering with the socks and continue with her sprint, going for the ledge. From behind, the Harbinger roared, Ky glanced back; the creature galloping after her on its two arms, tail thrashing around as if to get the body more momentum. She focused back forwards, pressing herself harder to be steady and took in a deep breath.

Ky presses off her right foot, jumping high into the air, arms flailing as she began her twenty foot descent down towards the water and in that very moment, things seemed to went in slow motion.

During the fall, from the corner of Ky’s right eye, she seen the pink tongue of the Harbinger outstretch for her forearm. But instead of trying to wrap around like how she seen it done with Sasha’s ankle, the forked end was clamping itself like a claw machine trying to win a stuffed animal with anticipation. It approaches, capturing her arm but only for minute before grazing her, making pain radiate. Then into the water, she went.

Ky immediately took to swimming for the tunnel that she swam through to get there, knowing that the Harbinger was too big to fit in. But with that knowledge, how in the world did it manage to get in there in the first place? The thought was instantly shoved away by Ky’s mind as she pressed on with swimming vigorously towards the end that now had a orangey luminese to it.

She makes it at the end, her lungs and head begging for a newer supply oxygen. Ky wiggles up,  moving her arms through the water, trying to reach the top but stopped, jerking back as the Harbinger skimmed the top above her; cutting off her path.

_How the hell?!_ Ky yelled in her mind, struggling with swimming to one of the structures to hide. _Where did the Harbinger come from?!_

She takes shelter in a stoned pavilion, the sides enclosed in with walls and the roof was in an arch, made of glass. At the top, Ky could see a ring that rippled and knew instantly that it could be an air pocket. She swam on up, popping her face up, tilting her head back and took in the glorious tasting air that happened to smell of fish. Her face scrunches up from the aroma but it was better than passing out and drowning.

Beyond the glass, her eyes stayed trained on the water monster, watching the movements it made as its tail swayed back and forth. The white patch on the throat was pulsing with a glow that seemed very strange and frankly, disturbing and alarming. The eyes scanned the area, no doubt it was looking for Ky, trying to figure where she had gone, snarling, making way through the structures and arches.

Ky exhaled deeply, knowing that she was in a pickled situation without any help. Cass was right, she had never gone into the water in the first place . . . But then was wrong. Because if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t had found the way out. The exit.

She glances around the location, not seeing the Harbinger anywhere and paused, pondering where a huge monster like itself could be. And like any horror given scenario, she had a hunch on the location; rotating herself around in careful manner.

Nothing. Nothing was there. No Harbinger. No danger. No nothing. But she does make note of something that looks to be like a drain over by where she spotted the letters that when sounded out, said wicked.

She pondered, _Can . . Can we drain the Labyrinth? Would that kill the Harbinger if we do so? Why would the Masterminds put something like a drain here?_

Ky gives it a minute, turning back and right in front of the glass dome, the Harbinger was there, snarling and opening its jaws to wrap around the frame. Her body goes ice cold, taking in a deep breath and dunked back down under as the glass from above shattered from the monster; blood pumping in her ears and her swimming ferociously to her heart's content. She needed to get out of that water, out of that Labyrinth. She needed to get back to the Isle, and to tell the Islers that she had found a way out. Unfortunately by doing that, that meant having to deal with Bia’s wrath but as Ky seen it, it was _much_ better than the Harbinger’s.

_Swim. Just swim faster,_ she repeated to herself over and over. _Just swim and hopefully, if Cass is still here, I can make it to her and get out._

At the surface, Ky comes up, quickly searching and found the boat and Cass a little while aways. Mentally, she thanked the high heavens, working her way through the water.

“Ky!” Cass shouts in urgency, standing up in the boat. “Hurry!” Behind Ky, the Harbinger raised its head up, revealing itself to Cass. She felt her knees become shaky, staring at the frightening aquatic reptile with her widen, big brown eyes. “ _That’s_ a Harbinger?” She asks, shocked.

Ky couldn’t respond, she was too busy focusing on swimming for the vessel, not needing to distract herself anymore with anything. Her life was at stake.

Wanting to help, [Cass ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/2dd9de20fbe57ef0477410aa24100ff8/tumblr_inline_ob5fe7GUpZ1t8bm8b_500.gif)searched through her bag to find items to throw and landed a hand on a canteen bottle. She placed her arm backwards, aiming directly for the one eye of the creature and halted, trying to get a clear shot. Once she had it, she threw the metal bottle as hard as she could. A “yeet” escaping her mouth, echoing off the Labyrinth’s walls; she had learned from the best. Micky.

The bottle hits target, the Harbinger stopping and yelling out in anguish, neck and head thrashing around as if it were trying to shake off the pain that it felt. The white patch on the throat emitting the light that Ky had seen before but it changed color, becoming yellow. It opens its jaw to the sky, a grey cloud billowing out like there was a fire inside of it, sparking fire and burning wildly.

Ky makes it to the side of the boat, Cass helping her up in the boat that was rocking back and forth in the water. The girls both hurry, grabbing the oars, getting into position and began rowing back to the Isle. To safety.

With a small peer around the shoulder, Ky sees how the Harbinger sinks back into the water but not before opening its hurt eye that was now red as if it was crying. Her body tensed but still steered the boat forwards through the water. She gulps, attention going back forwards and her anxiety ramping up her heart and made her feel tingles all over.

_It wasn’t the same Harbinger._

 

In the Isle [Anne](https://78.media.tumblr.com/f6ea3626ccc3462a86984d2ba94def4d/tumblr_ml2h6jMX4Z1rutpbro1_250.gif) was sitting on the beach with [Quinn](https://78.media.tumblr.com/87ccdf37afa9e9fc624b2008f0670bb0/tumblr_nu32xkFE271uxcrako3_250.gif), eating their sandwiches, watching the day’s light appear above the Labyrinth’s walls, shining on them for a mere second before feeling small tiny raindrops on their skin. Anne lets out a small sigh, eyeing the clouds that came rolling in after and faced Quinn to get her mind off of the gloomy atmosphere. Her blue eyes locked on Quinn’s small silhouette, seeing how they were wearing a muscle tee that displayed their side, toned stomach, and black sports bra. Quinn’s short, blonde hair looked so soft and Anne wanted to touch it but kept herself restrained, fighting the nerves in her arm that completely wanted to take her fingers through it.

Quinn sees Anne staring and breaks into a smile. “You’re staring.”

“It’s not staring,” she replied cheekly. “It’s called gazing and it’s what people do when they’re admiring something.”

“Yeah, and it’s called stalking.” Quinn nudges her playfully which makes Anne giggle, turning her cheeks pink.

With a quick and swift motion, Anne’s hand raises, gliding through Quinn’s hair. “I love your hair. It’s so soft! Like, how’s that possible? We don’t have anything here to keep our hair maintained.”

“Well, according to Jess and her little handy dandy book that she got that just has about everything in it that we’ve forgotten about,” Quinn began, “apparently the hair has natural oils that it produces and that’s why our hair gets greasy so many days after washing it. And it’s actually good for your roots so instead of dunking my head in the water every two days, I wait for about week to pass then clean it.”

Anne lets out a snort. “Jess and her book. I swear, if we told her to marry it she would.”

“I’d marry a book if it was good reading. Too bad I already have my interest in something else other than a book that was written by someone I don’t know about someone’s fictional life.”

Quinn’s words have Anne’s insides turn to mush, sloshing around like waves and crashing in on her heart’s shoreline. She knew that’s not how the body worked, from Jess, but regardless that’s how it felt for her.

“And what is it that you’re interested in?”

Quinn shifted their body, facing towards Anne with pursed lips and icy eyes on hers. “I’m interested in—Owe.”

Anne lost her smile. “Owe?” She then seen how Quinn’s stare went past her, glancing over her own shoulder to see Owe with the Misfit up on his shoulders, peering around for something in particular.

“Owe, what are you doing?”

Quinn stands up and Anne does too.

“Yeah, and why is the Misfit on your shoulders?”

He quirks a smile, shrugging. “Because Sapph wanted to be.”

“Her name is _Sapph_?” Quinn remarks. “She told you that.”

“Not exactly tell but she wrote it out on Dean’s face while he was asleep.” He nods. “Poor dude broke out in hives from the marker irritating his skin.”

As if on cue, Dean headed on out from his sleeping area, black marker written all over his face, arms, legs, and the little of his neck. He was itching like crazy while Charles, or more commonly known as Carlos, was laughing at him, trying to wipe it off the names with wetted napkins. His long messy, tousled hair was all over, annoying him as he tried to slick it back behind his ears but lacked to do so since he kept on moving to scratch his body.

The Misfit, Sapph, watched him with an evil grin; giggling. From her laugh, Owe remembered what else she did. “Oh! And she toasted the white puffs, mashing it into his hair which means he’ll need a haircut from Des.”

“I like her.” Quinn laughed, holding their stomach as they did. “We’re keeping Sapph. She’s amazing.”

“Islers!” Jess calls on out happily. “Come here! I found the section on culture!”

“ _Mastermind Princess_ awaits.” Anne remarks jokingly, heading on over to the Convocation where they usually gathered. Quinn, Owe, and Sapph following after.

Inside of the wooden building, there was rows of chairs in a circle and inside that circle was another circle of chairs were the Originals sat to to discuss things while the outer circle watched and listened in to the conversation that was being held.

[Jess](https://78.media.tumblr.com/071d9a9e1e14bfac4ecf00994b37dae7/tumblr_n4ihweonVr1qgwn27o2_250.gif) was already at her seat, book wide open on her lap, kindly waiting for everyone to be seated to start out her little session that she was over excited and eager to share. Bia, Lina, Faia, Hayley, Amirah, and Micky sit around her while the others sit on the outside; Owe, Quinn, Anne, and Sapph sitting as a group.

“Okay, Jess. Give us what you’ve been hootin’ all aboot.” Lina nods at her. “Eh?”

Her fingers smooth out the pages. “Nationalities! I did my reading researched, and found out what some of us are! So Lina, for instance, you’re Canadian. That’s why you pronounce things weirdly. So is Jo.”

“Am I Canadian?”

“No, Micky. You’re”—she flips on through, landing on the page that she had marked with green annotations—“Dutch. Which is a Germanic ethnic group native to the Netherlands.”

“That’s legitness.” Micky nods with a grimace.

Jess goes to other sections that she’s marked. “Amirah, you’re Palestinian. Chloe, you’re Chinese. The little new coming Misfit, she seems to be Korean.” A short pause. Turning more pages. “Hayley, you’re Cuban which explains you calling us ‘acere’ and you’re British, too! And that also makes Mads and James part of the Brit family.”

“Woah, Cuban and British?” Hayley laughs. “I’m surprised my words aren’t jumbled like Owe’s nasty carrot, fish stew.”

“Hey,” Owe started up, smiling and shaking his head. “It’s hard trying to cook things you guys like. You’re all so picky and too lazy to make your own food.”

“He got us there.” Micky points her finger at him, agreeing.

[Bia](https://78.media.tumblr.com/7a22d0dbf6518d9bc24e698b945155fe/tumblr_mn4i0oBLu71qg94hko1_250.gif) shakes her head with a stifling laugh, folding her arms in front of her chest. A strand of her dirty blonde hair falling in front of her left eye. “Okay. What else is there, Jess?” She leans back in her seat, right leg propped up and slung over the left.

“Faia and Sarah, you’re both Asian. Bridge is Euro Pākehā. Charlie, you’re African American.”

“And the only one it seems.” [Charlie](https://78.media.tumblr.com/d63d2092529e4129348eb4752d147b9d/tumblr_n5adhcwCGa1qba5zuo1_250.gif) nods, eyeing the Isle and noticed how she was, in fact, the only dark woman. “Until we get another, that is.” She then lifted her right hand, twisting her middle finger over her forefinger. “Fingers crossed.”

Jess then shuts her book, exhaling with affection. “For the rest of us, we’re all pure white Americans . . Well, not _pure_. I’m sure some of us had families that were immigrants at some point in time that had mingled with Indians, Germans, or something, but yous understood what I meant. Bless it be?”

“Bless it be.” Islers say.

Everyone heads out, leaving for their jobs that they had to do except for Quinn; they had the day off and planned it for spending time with Anne like Owe had to work alongside James. Quinn knew it ticked Owe off but didn’t seem to care, they enjoyed seeing him annoyed and squirming about. It became their favorite game.

Quinn would place Owe in awkward situations to see how he reacts in hindsight, mentally making bets on what he’d say, do, and if he would pass out or just get extremely flustered and embarrassed. _Pin A Problem on Owe._ A magnificent game.

Anne slips her hand into Quinn’s, giving it a tiny squeeze. “You’re not going to do your little sinister game, are you?”

“Maybe.”

“Poor dude, maybe you should give him a break? Yeah? Please, Quinn. For me?” Anne worked her magic, giving Quinn puppy dog eyes.

“You’re so damn cute, I can’t stand it.” They grumble, rolling eyes.

Anne pecks their cheek. “And you’re adorable.”

At the Scullery, [Owe](https://78.media.tumblr.com/4deb31cdff470ac6d0372881e385df08/tumblr_om2j3pBMkL1tn6b73o5_400.gif) dried off his hands from washing them with a small bar of soap that Lina had made from flowers, peering over his shoulder to see James readying a small fire to boil water in a pot. He sneers at him, studying his form of a scruffy stubble, knitted brows, intense blue eyes, and short, well groomed hair that he gets cut by Des who also acted as a barber within the Isle. Owe never completely trusted her, especially when she was around knives or anything sharp, hence why he never gotten his hair cut during his year with the girls. He just kept it long, growing it out, parting it off to his right, tucking the side pieces behind his ears.

[James](https://78.media.tumblr.com/e63a3a463a79990a49a7e860ba96d84e/tumblr_inline_mztwd3EkWg1rsud01.gif) stands from crouching and Owe quickly turns back, focusing on cutting a few slices of the loaf for lunch. Things are silent for a moment until James clears his throat, Owe’s eyes drifting to where he was standing besides him. “How’s your day going to far?”

“Good, good. No problems at the moment.” He nods him off, hoping that no more questions would follow but sure enough, they did.

“What makes you believe that there’s going to be problems later?”

Owe groaned unintentionally, trying to cover it up with a cough afterwards. “I, uh, didn’t. Just an expression muck.” He then brought down the knife down on the bread, chopping off a huge chunk that could feed three Islers. “Something that you should get used too since you’re in here with a bunch of beautiful girls and a lovely Quinn.”

James chuckled, his voice naturally having that cocky tone that only bullies in cliche teenage movies had. “You know, Owey, I get the feelin’ that you don’t like me very much. Why’s that? I’m a nice guy. I never done anything bad to ya, or anyone for that matter. So why you all glum whenever I come on over and try to hang out?”

“You’re good looking,” Owe lifts his gaze to him. “All the girls here look at you like you’re some . . . _god_ that’s all chiseled and muscular. Thick veins in your biceps, can lift the sacks of flour that the Masterminds send up—hell, you even picked up both Micky and Des when they were having their dispute over who gets to eat the last frog leg.”

“Yeah, which I don’t really understand.” James furrowed his brow. “They’re bloody disgusting.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“And that’s what exactly?”

“They prefer you over me.”

James shakes his head, peering out to the Isle and spotted Amirah, Jo, Sarah, Hayley, and Chloe. “Girls! Hey!” He calls them on over, then seeing Quinn and Anne listening to music over by Mads. “You three! Come here as well!” They listen, doing so while James flashed his pearly whites. “If any of you had to spend a night in a bunk with me or Owey . . . Who’d you choose?”

Quinn breaks out into a laugh followed by the others which makes Owe nervously retuck his bangs behind his ears. “You’re kidding, right? The answer is obvious. You, dumbass.”

“And why not Owey?”

Anne raises a brow. “Well, I mean, some of us are gay for both genders but being with Owe would be too much.”

Quinn agrees. “Yeah. From the back he already looks like girl. But not the type that you’d want to date, more like the kind that you’d buy ice cream for once they got their heart broken.”

Jo then adds on. “Plus, he just doesn’t have that manly factor. Like, he’s the school boy type that you get a crush on but never really do anything with.”

“I have my eyes set on another person here but you are adorable, Owe. Sorry.” Hayley gives off a light smile, wanting him to know that she was still his friend and didn’t mean any hard feelings towards him. Amirah does the same as her.

“I’d pick you to share a bunk, but Owe to make cakes with.” Chloe states. “Owe makes pretty good cakes. Always moist and never dry.”

Mads doesn’t say anything but she doesn’t need too, her eyes just linger to James and that was her answer for who she chose.

“Well,” Owe tisked his tongue, clasping his hands together and gave a bow in a mocking gesture. “Thanks James for that incredible gesture which is going to plague me with embarrassment for the rest of my life. Now, I’ll go crawl in a hole and die alone.”

He goes to walk away but James places a hand on his shoulder, stopping and yanking him back tenderly. “Hold on hold on, Mr. Downside. That was their opinions. We still got half of the other Islers to go through and ask. Even Dean and Carlos.”

“They’re gay.”

“Dean is. Carlos just takes turns swinging for both of the baseball teams.” James winked. “So maybe even, if the girls aren’t interested, Carlos might have a spot for you.”

“I . . . I like girls.” Owe defended.

He shrugs. “Maybe you’ll come to your senses.” James pats his back, calling over Micky, Des, Lina, Faia, Samuel, and Charlie to ask them all the same question while the last group left to go back to what they were doing.

Des spoke first with a harsh “No”, denying any and all things that involved Owe even if it was imaginary. Lina shrugged, saying that even though she liked both girls and boys, she preferred women. Samuel politely declined and Charlie apologized, giving an “No” as well. Faia said that she never thought of being with someone within the Isle and excused herself from the discussion. Micky was the last, standing with her right hip popped out, arms resting on her waist and blonde, messy hair in a side braid.

“So [Mickster](https://78.media.tumblr.com/70cc16cf85283ea484f81ed40009d1af/tumblr_inline_mzyus8zSpq1ri6sj7.gif), what’s your thoughts?” James leaned over the wooden counter, on his elbows, grinning from ear to ear.

“He desperately needs a haircut by Des. No joke. Whack off that long muck ass hair, it doesn’t suit you.” Slowly, Owe scratches the back of his head, feeling the length of his hair while she watched him do so. “Work out the arms, lift a few pots or one of the boys . . . Get more cleaned up, you look dirty almost every day. And then, we’ll talk. Or not because I have Cass. So, peace.” Micky flings out her index and middle finger, making a V and backs away slowly before doing a complete one-eighty, leaving the premises.

Owe huffs. “Anymore mental scarring you want to do to me today, Jamesy?”

“Still haven’t gotten the boys’ opinions . . . Neither didn’t get Cass or Ky’s for that matter.”

Panic flared up in him. “Uh, hey, yeah. No. No no no. I’m fine with not knowing. Can we just . . Can we just get back to cooking lunch, there’s going to be hungry Islers.”

“Yeah,” he slowly steps out, taking off in a jog, “but after I find the two girls that we need!”

“James!” Owe yells after and scowls, tossing the loaf of bread into a pot and squatted down on one of the wooden boxes, placing his elbows on his knees. “Freaking splintface. ‘Oh, how about we go and find the girl that you like and that I flirt with, and ask her if she’d pick you over me’.” He mocks in a grumble, picking at a small mound of sand under his boot.

In the right corner of his eye, Owe spots movement, shifting his body to see the Misfit, Sapph, looking at him, hidden behind one of the curtains of the wooden structure of the Scullery. Her wide brown eyes just trained on him, light curve of her lips, and her dark blue zipper hoodie still zipped the whole way up to her tiny neck.

“You hear all that?” He asks softly, she nods. “Sorry. I just . . . It’s like he knows what he does but doesn’t seem to care. He flirts with her, with Ky, and it makes my _ticker_ hurt.”

Sapph scrunches up her face in confusion; appalled by his words.

“No, no! Not . . . Not _that_. I meant, my heart.” He then pats his left clavicle, showing her where it was located. “I call my heart my ticker because if you think about it, it’s like an watch. It keeps on beating, keeps on ticking, you rely on it. Too much damage, it still ticks but ever so slowly. But sometimes, the batteries wear out which makes the clock stop. Just like your heart. You never know when it’s going to stop but you still live, you still continue on.”

She nods understandingly, still keeping herself quiet and looked out to see James searching around the different sleeping areas and hammocks. Owe does the same.

“How can I ever compete with that?” He motions towards James.

“You can’t.” A small voice remarks which catches Owe off guard, looking over at Sapph to see her still staring off at James.

He knits his brows together, wondering if he had imagined her speaking. “W-What?”

“You can’t. Have you’ve seen him?” Her words are projected, sneering and spiteful like a snake’s hiss but angelic. “He’s gorgeous. Someone that I wouldn’t mind getting piggy back rides from. And you . . You look like a stick in the mud.”

Insulted by a younger child, he could only say one thing in his moment of utter shock. “You . . You’re like eleven.”

“Just like strong built James.” She sighs blissfully, resting against the post. “You’re about a five on the hot scale.”

“How do you know this?!”

“I snuck around last night, overhearing Sarah, Faia, Jo, Anne, and Micky ranking the Islers from one to ten for being beautiful. It was entertaining.”

He stays silent. “What was I put as?”

“You’re asking a question you don’t want to know, bub.” Owe nods, his self esteem wearing thin and stands back up, fixing his hair and dusting off his shirt. “I hope he knows that he’s not going to find them.”

“Who?” He asks, not really paying to the child as he sorted himself out, getting back to cooking since he knew that James wouldn’t be doing it any time soon.

“Cass and Ky.” Sapph remarks. “They left.”

That caught Owe’s attention fast. “Left? Wh—What do you mean that they _left_?”

“The opposite of right, exiting a location. Left. They left to go out there.” She points to the opening of the Labyrinth. “Left on a canoe.”  

He looked on over, gulping and felt his heart beating fast. “Christ. Okay, uh . . . Plop”

“Plop? Is that a substitute for shit?”

“How . . How do you know these things?!” Owe shakes his head, running off to go find Bia and tell her the news; Sapph following behind in her oversized hoodie as the sky began letting water droplets fall.

 

Ky had been arguing with Cass as they rowed back to the Isle, bickering and Cass was getting tired of it. She ended up going quiet, steering from the back with her oar until the silence got too awkward and annoying.

“Okay, just—Ky, what you’re saying isn’t making any sense. I hope you know that.”

“I know what I saw!” Ky frowned, pressing on. “I think there is a drain in the bottom of that section we were in. It’d make sense for why it’s rarely opened and why the way out is located there. You have to trust me on this, okay. Just like how you trusted me with saying that there was such creatures called Harbingers without you having ever seen one until today.”

Cass goes silent again before speaking. “How do you plan on telling Bia this? You know the rules of the Isle.”

Ky took in a deep breath, watching how the rain was now coming down like stair rods and keep eyes forwards, seeing the entrance of the Isle and took in a deep breath, working her arms. She’d figure something out. Hopefully.

Upon entry, Ky and Cass could already see the Originals eyeing them with Bia in the front, clothes and hair already soaked from the weather. Off to her side, Anne, Quinn, Owe, and Sapph stood and she couldn’t tell if Sapph was holding Owe’s hand or not but she found it cute until Bia spoke up.

“You two better trim it down and tell me what the hell is going on?!”

Des hurries down as the boat makes it to the sand, pulling it up for him to dock and Ky gets out first, looking to Bia and the others. “I found the way out of here, Bia. We can get out of here! We can finally be free.”

“What have I told you before about going out there?” She sternly says. “We can’t risk losing anyone! We’re a family, alright? Ky, just because you’ve been here longer than almost everyone here, that doesn’t give you the right to make decisions.”

Ky cracked out in a laugh of disbelief. “Oh! And you can! You were here, alone, for a month until I showed up.” She announced loudly. “We were friends, Bia. Good friends! But ever since that day, you’ve treated me like I was the monster. Like _I_ was the Harbinger!”

“ _Harbinger?_ ”

“Bia, what’s a Harbinger?”

A few of the Islers began asking.

Bia scoffed, watching as Cass walked up pass her to join Micky, giving her a hug. “See, you’ve did it now. We’re in trouble,” her stare goes back to Ky, “because of you.” She goes to leave but from being close from dying and to being free, Ky snapped in that moment; wanting everything out in that moment.

“A Harbinger is a monster that lives out there, in the Labyrinth! Bia never wanted us to tell yous because she didn’t want to lose anyone after an accident that had happened on her behalf.” She shouts. “But she also blames me! Maybe I’ve could’ve done something different, maybe Bia could’ve, or Jess, or Faia. But hey! That’s what everyone does now these days. They just blame others for the way that they feel.”

Bia then began playing with her gasoline words, fueling it to Ky’s fire. “It was my idea! Okay? Is that that you wanted to hear?! Did you want to hear how the Harbinger killed them, too? Because you sure watched it while it happened like it was entertainment! We have rules, Ky! This Isle has rules! And it’s been fine since then. We never had deaths, never had problems, but now we’re going to because of you and Cass.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Look at your arm!” Bia grabs Ky’s wrist, holding it up for her eyes to catch sight of her cut arm that she didn’t even notice until now since she had adrenaline through her veins. The slash was deep, requiring stitches as it still bled out in a small little stream, mixing in with the rain. “You got hurt.” She then lowers her voice, trying to be civil. “This . . This Ky, this is what happened long ago. You know what. So why must be stupid?”

“I found. A way. Out.” She rips her arm free from Bia, staring up at her in her eyes. “And you? You just boss people around, making rules that results in us staying her forever, newsflash Bia, some of us want to leave this place. We . . We can’t just stay here forever. You know that. Maybe that’s what’s scaring you from doing something . . But it’s not scaring me.”

Ky stepped back, giving herself some room and eyed the Islers who were just watching intensely.

“It’s true. I found a way out, and we can leave. We can leave tomorrow. And yeah, I know. A Harbinger sounds scary just by the name of it but . . We can make it. I promise. I dove under the water, finding a tunnel that leads to this wonderful, grassy little area that makes this place look like a dump. We all can be free, go home. Home to our parents . . People who love us and are probably sick and worried for us, wondering where we are.”

Her eyes land on Jess who was clutching her book to her chest tightly, standing next to Faia and Des. “Jess, you may have a dog at home who’s sitting at the window, waiting for you to arrive with open arms so it can kiss you. Faia, you may own a goldfish who’s begging to see it’s favorite person. Des, you may have a cat or like a duck, I dunno? But don’t you want to find out? I would. I’d love to know if I had family waiting for me outside of this place. And if they’re waiting, I don’t want them to have to wait longer. I’m determined to rescue us and get all out of here, even if it kills me!”

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, water sprayed up from behind her which made the Islers all scream and file backwards.

The head of the Harbinger that Cass had hit with her bottle was back, snarling and flicked out its tongue that was covered in thick yellow saliva, wrapping it around Ky’s arm, straight on the wound that she had received. It then huffs, the clouded breath falling over her body and rendering her immobile.

[Des](https://78.media.tumblr.com/ff1723033c679e20270281cae64cd28a/tumblr_ns8z8tH5zc1qf9xmno5_250.gif) hurried, finding her stash of knives and began throwing them at the creature, having it thrash around in pain. Jess hurried, getting her makeshift bow that she made a while back to cure her boredom, loading it with wooden arrow that she fashioned with duck feathers and knives, aiming at the eye that was already hurt and let the string go. It hits mark and just like before with Cass, it tilts its head back, crying out in pain but not before releasing Ky.

James runs for her with Anne, Quinn, Micky, Cass, and Owe following after. “Ky! Ky!”

Her head is foggy, vision blurring in and out, trying to focus but couldn’t. She just looked at their faces, seeing them twirl around and distorting into each other’s.

“What the hell did that thing do to her?!” Owe shouts, placing his hands under her head to support it, not caring that his hair was hugging, framing his face like how the girl’s hair was doing.

“Was that a mucking Harbinger?” Anne frowns, shivering. “Are we safe here?”

“I don’t know, we better . . .”

Ky couldn’t even hear the rest, her eyes got heavy, shutting them and from that, her hearing even seemed to go out as well.

 


	5. PART 1: Rise of the Valkyries

“Trim it down! Trim it down! Trim it down!” Bia shouts, trying to calm the Islers that had just witnessed the Harbinger, hysterically making remarks on how they’re going to die on their island and that being there was no longer safe. “Everyone it’s going to be alright!”

“No, it’s not!” [ Samuel ](http://67.media.tumblr.com/de0834f8311bb456ccc4899828f01d71/tumblr_n1mkghXfFJ1trdrjoo8_r1_250.gif) begins hardheartedly, clearing her throat. “We’re clearly not safe here and Ky knew the way out but now, she’s comatose and I doubt that Jess will be able to get her up and moving anytime soon.”

“We can’t just leave under these circumstances and what are we going to do if we do? We don’t have enough boats to travel out all together and even if we do, I know that we won’t all make it safely. That scares me. Everyone here can be safe, we just need to band together and be prepared.”

Charlie sighs. “I think maybe it about time we leave this place.”

“You’re all just spooked from the Harbinger.”

“ _We’re_ terrified, Bia.” Jo shakes her head, standing up from her seat to eye her. “That monster just attacked one of our own! A lot of us have been wanting to leave for a very long time and now, it’s the perfect time to actually go and pack up our things.” She then raises her hand up high, “If you’ve been wanting or now want to leave this Isle, raise your hand.”

Dean was the first of the Islers and once they seen his hand, it gave them the motivation to put up theirs. Des, Sarah, Chloe, Mads, Bridge, Charlie, Charles ‘Carlos’, Cass, and Samuel.  

Bia then looks at the group of the Originals, all seats filled except for two; Ky’s, who was hurt and in the Infirmary Shack, and Jess who was with her.

She motions to them. “And what about you jackwagons? What’s your thoughts?” She pauses. “Faia?”

“I’ve been here for a long, long time, Bia. We all have.”

“So you’re saying that you want to go. Fine. Who else?” Her blue eyes linger around the circle. “Amirah?” She curtly nods, being respectful. “Lina?”

Lina’s silent but then speaks. “I’m afraid of water . . . I don’t think I’ll make it even with a boat. I’ll stay.”

“Micky? Hayley?”

“I go where Cass goes.” Micky smiles lightly, taking a glance over at the girl that she came to known and love. “I’ll always be one step behind her.”

“And I’m with Mick and the others.” [ Hayley ](https://78.media.tumblr.com/16918a0f2b7f96bdf62cb3fea69bfde5/tumblr_o03oh4djEM1ureq8go1_250.gif) adds.

Bia exhales deeply, licking her bottom lip before biting it as she thought. “Okay then. Chloe, Des, you and the other Planners can build more boats if you’re all desperate to leave. Today’s light showers and tomorrow is the big storm in the afternoon, so you need to hurry and grind down on work. Charlotte, Hayley, you two can pack up the supplies that they’ll need while James, Quinn, and Owe make food for yous to have energy. Mads, Dean, yous can be a Pouchers today and help Charlotte and Hayles. Seeders, distribute what’s left of the garden between the ones staying and leaving. Bless it be?”

“Bless it be.”

In the Infirmary Shack’s back room where three cots resided for years untouched laid Ky’s silent body slumped, limp, and passed out with Jess cleaning out her arm wound. James, Anne, Quinn, Owe, and Sapph all were in the room, watching Jess and her process. Everyone was silent since the accident and the heavy atmosphere was too much to bear so Quinn cracked a joke in their monotone voice.

“Well, at least this place is finally getting proper use rather than splinters, bruised thumbs, and sliced fingers.”

Anne frowned, taking a seat in a crooked wooden chair that was on the left side of Ky’s bed and held her hand tight. “Jess, you think she’s going to be alright?”

“She has the Harbinger’s saliva in her arm and strangely enough, it’s not liquidy like how normal saliva is. It’s thick and gooey kinda like the mud that the boys play in and have wars with. Speaking of,” she stops, looking under her working arm at Owe and James, “shouldn’t you two be at your Necropolis bunker and getting ready for another?”

James scoffs playfully. “Owey here won’t leave with me until he knows everything’s in order with Kyly here in her state of being. So once he’s set, we’ll leave. Besides, with the Harbinger attack, I don’t think we’ll be having a mud fight today.”

She nods, slowly looking back to her cotton stick that she got from the Cube a year ago, collecting samples of the saliva and grabbed a inch thick glass, rubbing the substance on it before walking over to her microscope and getting it set up to investigate. She bends down, placing her eye in the lens, turning the small black knobs to clear the image. “Hmm, very interesting.”

“What?” Anne perks up.

“This isn’t saliva. It’s something else.”

Owe and Quinn both got confused. “What you mean it isn’t saliva?” They chorused together.

“Normally, you see the water and salivary cells within saliva but this isn’t showing me that. It’s showing me spikey orbs as if it’s . . .”

“As if it’s what?” Quinn questions.

“. . . As if it’s an infection of some kind.” They all turn, facing Ky who was just resting peacefully in her slumber. “But it can be harmless, I haven’t seen anything like it in my book which is a good thing. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe that’s what made her body shut down and sleep.”

“So it’s not harmful _just_ trying to put our Ky to rest?” Quinn inquires, taking in a deep breath. “Then why go through all the trouble of coming to the Isle just to put her asleep? Because she knew the way out?”

“I’ve heard crazier things.” James comments, looking to them. “I believe it. Maybe the Masterminds just sent it after her so we had to stay here longer.”

“Those mucks.” The blonde grumbles under their breath while Jess grabs a curved needle and some thread, walking back to Ky, cleaning and beginning to stitch her arm up with precise concentration and effort.

From behind the beaded curtains move, making noise to announce that someone was entering the backroom. The group sees Micky and Cass, walking hand-in-hand, looking grim which made them only imagine what Bia had said to the Islers.

Upon seeing the two girls Sapph cracked a small smile, nudging Owe’s hip. He peers down at her, seeing that she had her head tilted up. “ _Lesbians_.” She whispers.

“Okay, you need a time out.” He taps her back, letting her know that she needed to quiet down.

“What did Bia say to yous?” Anne shifts in her seat, still holding tightly onto Ky’s hand.

“Her and Lina are going to stay while we get the hell out of this suck ass camp.” Micky retorts. “She’s ordered everyone to prepare things.”

Cass adds on. “Planners are to make boats, Preparers need to make food that can last about 2 months for her and Lina, Pouchers are supposed to help Planners with supplies, Seeders to split the garden, a whole bunch of things.”

“Great, slaving with making food with _Shaggy_ and _Scooby Doo_.” Quinn rolls their eyes, making a quick glance to Owe and James.

“Which one is the idiot and the dog?” Sapph looks to them.

“Oh, Owe’s Shaggy for sure.”

Sapph grins. “Which makes James the dog. Woof woof, boy.”

James overhears her, stifling a laugh. “Well, this doggy can give you a piggyback ride to the bunker for a mud fight, if you want? The boys won’t be there I’m guessing, so it’ll just be me and you.” Without needing to use words, Sapph nodded excitedly, running for James and he got down on his knees, turning his back to her. She jumps up, her legs slithering around his waist and arms around his neck. He stands them up, smiling and does a little hop to reposition her. “I’ll take you to the bunker.”

“Take we awayyy!” She sings out happily, cuddling up with his back and James says his byes, exiting the shack and headed for Necropolis.

Jess wraps a cloth around Ky’s bicep, tying it and exhales. “Okay. She’s set. Owe, can you get the blanket from over there and place it on her while I go wash my hands.”

He nods slowly while she leaves and walking over to where the heavy knitted blanket was, taking it from folded form and opening it. Steady steps and a beating heart that sped up, Owe wandered over, draping the maroon blanket across her and even tucked it underher.

Anne takes a small peek to Quinn, smiling and nodding towards Owe quietly. Quinn returns the smile, clearing throat. “Owe, bud, how about we start on those sandwiches before you need to leave for the bunker.”

“But I need to stay,” he replies. “You know, just in case something goes wrong or she awakes and is confused. She needs someone with her.”

“I’ll be here, Owe.” Anne tenderly nods. “She’ll be alright, okay. I promise. Go and get your job done so when she does awake we can leave.”

Not wanting to put a damper on his mental state that was already rocketed on its side, Owe complies, leaving with Quinn at side, their arm around his shoulder.

Anne whispers a “bye”, focusing back on her friend and even felt herself get a little sad as well. To her, Ky was a honorable person and was worth fighting alongside with because she truly cared about everyone more than herself. She’s been going out during the night into the Labyrinth to try and find them a way out which resulted her in getting a showdown with a massive Harbinger that was super scary and definitely was an omen of death.

 _She’s just pure of heart,_ Anne thinks to herself. _Truly one of kind._

 

Ever since Bia had announced they had the day to build boats before the storm, the Planners had been laboring almost nonstop with help from the Pouchers. Quinn was tied up with helping Owe cooking food for the Islers who always seemed to be hungry but they couldn’t blame them; after all, they had all been on edge ever since the Harbinger made its _wonderful_ appearance.

“Hey, Quinn!” Owe snapped Quinn out of their haze as they finished up the preparations on dinner, and he gestured towards the bell, silently asking if he could ring it. At Quinn’s nod, the little jingle they barely heard anymore sounded, and people were lining up almost instantly.

As they served the hungry Islers, Quinn couldn’t help but notice that Anne wasn’t among them. Or any of the Planners, for that matter. They sighed, remembering that they hadn’t heard Anne since the Infirmary Shack. If the Planners were neglecting their self care, that was certainly a problem. They definitely didn’t need any of them smashing their thumbs with a hammer or anything like that.

Once all the Islers had been served, including James and Sapph who were caked in mud from a bunker fight, Quinn snatched up the brown paper bag containing Anne’s sandwich and marched to the Planner’s station in the soft drizzle of rain. As they’d suspected, the girls were still hard at work, sweat and rain dripping down their backs with hair tied up in loose ponytails. They had long since lost their shirts and were instead wearing sports bras that seemed to take the brunt of all the sweat and weather.

Quinn bemused silently, heading through the damp sand, finding Anne’s half built boat and sitting down next to her. She barely seemed to pay any mind. “Hey. You deaf or did you miss the lunch bell?”

“I have to finish this,” Anne sighed, not even casting Quinn a glance as she hammered . . .  something to another thing. Quinn didn’t understand what she was doing, but did know that she seemed to do it well. “I’ll eat later.”

“You planning on sleeping later, too? Or do I need to come and get you to remind you of napping, too?” Anne bit her lip but didn’t reply. “You’re not planning to, are you?”

“Nope.” Des answered for Anne, not even looking up as she finished her vessel with the final whack of the hammer hitting the nailhead.

Quinn nods to her before looking back at Anne. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Quinn,” Anne laid a hand on their knee, tearing her gaze from the boat for a split second before getting back to it. “Really. I’m fine. I’ll rest when this is done and we’re out of the Labyrinth and back at home.”

Quinn sighed. Anne should’ve definitely know by now that they didn’t give up that easy. “Look. I made you a turkey and cheese sandwich. No crust, just the way that you like it. Now, I had already had about a hundred of these things for tomorrow and for Bia and Lina when we leave. Surely you can take a break just to eat real quick?”

“Later.”

“I can take over.”

“Quinn, I’m pretty sure you’ve never held a hammer in your life. Even before this. You’re hopeless.”

Quinn rested their chin on her shoulder. Anne barely even reacted, she still kept hammering away at something or other. “Please?” They asked again, dangling the bag in front of Anne’s face.

“Oh, for the love of god—” Des muttered, leaning off of her knees and back on her heels. “Anne. Take the damn sandwich if it’ll shut them up. They made it for you, it’s a lovely gesture. So, take it before I shove it in your mouth.”

Anne sighed, lowering those goggles she always wore while working with wood, holding up two fingers to Quinn. “Two minutes.”

“Five.”

“Three.”

“Four.”

“Fine,” Anne said, taking the bag from them and sitting inside the half completed boat. Quinn climbed in next to her, their shoulders pressing together. Anne ate the sandwich much faster than she normally did, and Quinn laughed, taking her hand by the wrist gently and lowering the sandwich from her mouth.

“Go slow, you’re kinda missing the purpose of your first actual meal. Besides, eating too fast can upset your stomach—as Faia always tells us.” Anne noticeably chewed slower, and Quinn resisted the urge to clap. “There you go.”

Anne handed the sandwich back. “Okay. I need to get back to work.”

“Nope,” Quinn said, pushing the sandwich back. “You promised. Four minutes. And according to my imaginary watch, it has been . . .” They made a show of looking at their obviously bare wrist. “One minute.”

Anne rolled her eyes. “Tell your imaginary watch to trim it down. I have work to do.”

“I’m not leaving until you finish the sandwich. So get eating.” Quinn grinned at her, leaning back and putting their arms palm-down on the bottom of the boat. Anne looked mildly annoyed, but also looked like she was biting back a smile. Quinn liked the look on her.

After another minute, Anne finished up, wiping her hands on her pants. “So, any word on Ky?”

Quinn shakes their head. “Heard nothing from Jess which I don’t know is considered a good thing or a bad thing, but, at least she has someone who knows what they’re doing.”

“Quinn, what if she doesn’t wake up?”

“She will.”

“But what if she doesn’t. Working on these boats would’ve been for nothing and she’s the only one who knows what to do once we get out there. It’s foreign territory, we never even been in there let alone wanted to go in there because of what Bia had always told us.”

“Hey,” Quinn frowns, pecking her cheek to try and calm her nerves. “It’ll be alright, I promise. Ky’ll get up, we’ll kick some Harbinger ass, and reunite with our families. And you and I, we’ll stay together. I swear.”

Des then speaks again, typing a rope on her boat to tug towards where the other boats were. “Not to be rude, but if Bia sees Quinn distracting you, Anne, she’ll separate you.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Anne climbed out of the boat, grabbing her hammer and began working again. “Thanks for the sandwich.” Quinn squeezed her shoulder as they climbed out, gently kissing the top of her head.

“Don’t get too much work, beautiful.” Anne flushed bright red and they just smiled, heading back to the Scullery to do their own work.

From the corner of his eye, Owe caught sight of Quinn, being curious as to where they went. “Where were you at?”

“Feeding one of our Planners that are slowly starving themselves,” Quinn said nonchalantly, helping Owe with the packing and cleaning the pots and pans. Why they were still washing them when they were leaving the next day, Quinn didn’t really know but it passed the time; giving them something to do other than worry about tomorrow and Ky, of course.

Owe was silent for a moment. “Do you really think we’re all gonna make it out of here alive?”

Quinn stilled. “I think we’ll make it out. But I don’t think all of us will live through it.”

He didn’t know how to reply. Eventually he settled with, “I hope you don’t die, Quinn.”

They bit back a laugh. “Thanks, buddy. You too. Because if you did, I’d be severely upset. And I’m sure that someone else would be too.” Owe did his million dollar smile, retucking his long hair behind his ears and Quinn noticed the glow on his cheeks. “Huh, that’s new.”

“What?”

“That smile. Didn’t know that I was able to bring that out of you.” Owe gave a light shrug, paying no mind to what Quinn just said and finished with the pots. His hazel eyes linger up, seeing how the night sky was getting darker and noticed a dirty blonde heading into the Infirmary Shack in a sneaking manner. It took him a moment to realize that that person was Bia.

He was about to mention it to Quinn, finding it suspicious but paused once he seen Phil, the deer, walking out of the Necropolis with Carlos and Dean chasing him. “Phil, come here! If Bia sees you, you’re getting cooked!”

“And we cannot have that!” Dean shouts, diving for the animal but he moves quick, having him land face first into earthy, cold sand.

“Philly!” Owe whistles and the buck stops, seeing him. “Thata boy! Come here.” He exits the small little tree stand which is were the Scullery was set up at, whistling and headed for the forest area. “Just keep on coming here, boy.” Phil trotts, following Owe’s voice and from the tables, James and Sapph watches.  

“He’s Snow White.” James says happily.

Sapph laughs, smiling. “You like him?”

“Owe?” She nods. “Yeah, he’s a nice lookin’ guy. I don’t get why girls here don’t find him attractive. Hazel eyes, brown hair, those dimples when he smiles. And he is romantic, he remembers every little detail about people and notices things that you normally wouldn’t even notice about yourself. Like this one time, right, I was buggin’ out, not knowing what to do but then Owe just patted my back which made me straighten out my back and instantly, it was like I was alright. According to him, whenever I’m unsure about something, I hunch over. So when he patted my back, it made me turn upright and I became more aware.”

“Wow . . Owe actually is a six on the scale.” She uttered.

“A what?”  
“Nothing.” She said in a hurry before stuffing her face with her sandwich and James smiled, patting her back and continued on eating his. “Please, marry me.”

“Hmm?”

“What—huh? You say something?”

“No, I thought you did.”

“Uh, no. No, no. Just eating.”

They both fell quiet, snacking but little did Sapph know, James knew exactly what she said and smiled; thinking it was cute that she had a little crush on him.

Meanwhile in the Infirmary Shack it was quiet, warm, and even welcoming. Bia had never been in there before so her eyeing up the place and seeing it all was a new kind of feeling. She walked to the back, placing her hands up and parted the beaded curtains, seeing the Original just resting there, looking pale in the face. Bia outstretches her hand, grabbing the hem of the blanket and pulled it down, seeing where her bandage was. Under it, she spotted the thick blue and black veins which made her feel horrible, recovering them back up.

“I know exactly what's happening.” Bia whispers looking over the sleeping still body of Ky, only imaging what was going on in that complex brain of hers. “A lot more than you think . . . I've been in your shoes. The first time that we met, I lied to you. I did go out in the Labyrinth, get attacked by a Harbinger, and experienced things about my past that I had forgotten when I awoke in the Cube. I had to do it all alone and it was scary, something that I didn’t want to happen to me but I think that I should consider you lucky. I was awake for mine. Everywhere I looked and turned, I’d get these mirages of seeing my mom and dad . . . Places that I don’t remember but I could smell the food, hear the people talk, and being happy.”

She sighs, shaking her head and even wiped away a stray tear. “That’s why I didn’t want anyone to go out in the Labyrinth. I didn’t want anyone to go through what I had gone through but, here you are. And I wish it wasn’t like that.” Bia apologizes, taking Ky’s hand into hers. “What are you going through in that beautiful head of yours?”

The answer was _everything_.

"So that's what this is all about." Bia turns, seeing Owe and Quinn standing there, having overheard everything that she just said. "She's having a memory trip of things that she's forgotten?" 

Bia nods which makes Owe head on up next to Ky, gently pulling her hand away from Bia's grasp. "And how exactly does this go on for?" 

"It lasted four days with me but I was awake, maybe it changes from being awake and trying not to fight it . . . I call it the  _Preserve_." 

"So it's just memories?" 

Bia shakes her head a bit but then nods. "Some bits and pieces but it's not in order. I seen things from my childhood to places, to random people to animals, to . . . _Us_."

Quinn walks up behind her, placing a firm grip on her shoulder. "You tell us what you mean without being so damn cryptic right now or so help me, I just might break your arm." 

"I saw us in this facility with people who wore white clothing and there was all this technology and things that I didn't understand. But there was only one thing that I knew and when it arrived here in the Isle, I couldn't let it go." 

"And what was that?" Owe asks, intrigued. 

Bia takes in a deep pause. "It was Ky." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Anne (missmaier) for helping me write the Quinne fluff that you've witnessed in this chapter :D


	6. PART 1: Neptune's Redrage and Roll Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to missmaier for helping me writing the first action scene of the Harbingers!!! :D

_Echoing voices._

That’s all Ky could hear.

Echoing voices while she had no concept of time.

 

It felt like when the moment that she awoke in the Cube; everything was dark, blurred, and cold. But this certainly was no room, she knew that even if her eyes couldn’t see. Ky couldn’t feel anything exterior but on the inside of her body, she felt this heated tingling that seemed to course through her very own veins. Her ligaments couldn’t move, mouth couldn’t speak and produce words nor could her eyes open to see what was all around her.

The darkness awakes, revealing a small light and she spots it for a brief moment. _How could a small speck of light shine so bright?_ She wondered, drawing herself closer which made it appear as if it were getting bigger and bigger. And it was.

The light grew into a gaping hole before swirling, acting like a vacuum to snatch her up and tear her into the white oblivion.

She was weak, not able to fight it off and with little to no effort, Ky was taken. Her mind pounded and excruciating pain traveled all over, consuming her. She wanted to scream but no noise was made, only a whimper from the back of her throat.

 

\-----

 

There's pods of water all lined up against the wall, some filled with boys while others weren't and Ky just stared at them in wonder and hurt. It was the middle of the night which meant that no one was up to see her sneak into the Confined Wing of the building; a section that was restricted for the midnight hours. Well, almost everyone.

The sliding glass doors from behind Ky open and her heart dropped into her stomach, skins radiating goosebumps that were hidden under her long white nightgown. The steps sounded sturdy, proper, and unmistakable.

 _"Ky, we're not doing this again, are we?"_ He questions, the ghostly glow of his white hand under the blue fluorescence lights shone in the very bottom of her right eye as she continued looking forward at the many Swipes before her. His grip on her shoulder strong and firm so she couldn't break away even if she wanted to. _"We expect results without emotions. You know that."_

She thinks that she nods but isn’t too sure. _“Yes, Director Janson. My apologizes.”_

 _“Go get some sleep kid.”_ Janson lets up from her arm, pressing on the small of her back to guide her back around to the doors.

On the way to her room, having two guards dressed in red straight behind her, her eyes scan the walls, corridors, and numbers of the dorms that held other kids just like her. And others who weren’t. She knew that because of the color of clothes that they all wore. If you dressed in blue, you worked with the organization. If you wore white, it meant the same thing as blue but you were kept in a different dorm and attended the Medical Wing a lot. Ky, herself, had numerous medical appointments. Lastly, if you wore any other color, you attended the facility’s school program and had individual treat sessions.

She and guards pass by one of the dorms that had a red tab on the side marked as Room 213; her eyes lock on the small window frame of the door as they go by, step by step. In the room, she sees movement then a face that’s on complete display. The face was distorted as the person banged on the door, demanding to be let out. Ky stops, wanting to help out but the one guard presses her on.

 

\-----

 

Ky was sitting her chair going over reports about the boys that were in the pods while others dressed in their blue uniforms worked around her, concentrating on their transparent computer screens that had up files of teenagers and children that they kept on calling subjects. There also were models, scales, landscapes, and locations of different labyrinths that were apart of what they all called Trials.

She knew of these; for the past months, that’s all that they’ve been preparing for—what they’ve planned for and have created.

Her fingers begin to flutter over her keyboard, staring back at her own screen to see the labyrinth that she and another boy had created together labeled as 0C028. She had added in certain elements to ensure the ‘subjects’ safety and higher chance of survival since amphibious dinosaur monsters were programmed to guard the exit.

Ky thinks for a short second before glancing up to see a boy that she considered a mentor, walking over to his desk that was right beside hers, side of his face littered with what she called mole freckles. Whenever boredom hit, she’d mentally connect them, creating the Big Dipper and smile. He takes a seat next to her, giving her a nod that she understood without even needing words. She continues on working.

 _“Ky,”_ a lady with blonde hair and dressed in white places a tender hand on her shoulder, leaning down to her ear. _“Come with me, please.”_

She gets up, following after the older lady who was always very nice to her, being led out into the one corridor.

They stand off to the side, facing one another and she begins. _“Group A and B have already started the Maze Trials. We’ll need to start on Group C and the others soon. Do you understand?”_

_“I do.”_

_“I’m sure you do, Ms. Agnes.”_ She whispers. _“You know our intentions here. This is for finding a cure that can save everyone.”_ Her blue eyes look Ky over before she steps up. _“WCKD is good.”_

 

\-----

 

She’s laying on a table in a room with nurses and doctors dressed in white above that towered over with a bright surgical light shining down on her. Her vision is blurred and a dull ache in the back of her neck makes her slant her head off to the right, seeing a boy on another table that was within arm's reach. Both were both naked but covered with a sheer light blue blanket.

Ky looks down at his feet, seeing a machine; a pod that was hooked into a wall, casting a light blue glow. The Swipe. There's one in front of her too. Without turning his head from staring up at the ceiling, he lifts his left arm up and off the table, trying to reach Ky; fingers sprawled out to try and find hers. Her right arm gingerly creeps out, middle finger grazing his and once they touch, his tips curl under hers and fold them down into his palm. He holds on tight, not daring to let Ky go and she does the same; palm huddling against his knuckles.

She mumbles a name out, voice sounding very weak. She can’t hear what she says.

The boy, who felt safe and even like home, his head lolls, light hazel eyes staring at her. His thumb begins stroking Ky’s pinkie cautiously to try and make her feel calm. They both stay like that for a moment, their gaze holding and hands together as one. But then, a few doctors notice, breaking their arms away from one another casually without a fuss and placing them back on the tables. Ky stays still but he doesn't, once the people in white moved away to continue on their inspection of their vitals, he brings his hand back on out.

 _“I’m not. Going to. Let you. Go.”_ His words warp but she understands as the dark hazes in on her eyesight.

 

\-----

 

“No, I’m not trying to poison her!” Sapph defends herself, holding up the small tube that was filled with blue liquid. “I just think that _maybe_ it’ll help her wake up from the hallucination thingy that you guys told us about.”

“Why would we give her something that we don’t even know what it is?” Anne folds her arms in front of her chest sternly, tapping her foot which was a nervous tick of hers.

“It’s worth a _shot_.” Sapph then giggles. “Get it? A shot. Because that’s what this is.” She then uncapped the one end, showing the needle to them.

Des held back a laugh, smirking at the small girl of four foot seven. “Come on, just let her prick Ky’s arm. It can’t do anymore harm than what she’s already in.”

“Uh, it can kill her!” Owe shot a look at Des. “We’re not going to risk it. We have no idea what it’ll do. So we’ll just wait it out, alright?”

Quinn furrowed their brows, looking Ky over and kept biting on their thumbnail trying to come up with a solution. It was already the next day and that meant that the storm was to hit very soon. Cass had already informed everyone that Ky said that there was a drain at the bottom of the Labyrinth which meant that those who couldn’t swim and were afraid of water could join them on their expedition to leave the Isle. When Lina heard the news, she finally changed her mind to tag along, the only person that was still keen on staying was Bia.

Speaking of her, she told everyone about what Ky was going through last night which made a few stunned by the fact. Just the fact of knowing that they could receive their memories gave them hope since they craved the details that they no longer had but the only way to receive them was by a Harbinger’s claw and saliva. With that in mind, they all stepped back from wanting the Preserve.

“Hate to break it to you guys but that storm won’t wait for her to awake.” James pipes up. “Cass said that it gets very bad out there, the Harbinger can use this storm to easily attack without us being prepared.”

“We’re not giving her the shot.” Owe eyed him intensely from Ky’s side, taking in a deep breath and went back to watching over his friend who was still out cold. His hazel eyes kept drifting off to her right hand that was resting next to his left, his pinkie desperately wanting to lift up to stroke hers.

James shake his head, leaning off the wall. “Owey, mate, we’re going to need to—”

He stands fast, getting lightheaded from the lack of sleep that he had from worrying about everyone. “No. Just let her rest, okay? We can leave tomorrow. The way out will still be there.”

Anne agrees. “Yeah, exactly. Another day won’t hurt anyone.”

“What if it does?” Des now questions. “I mean, it took them this long to find it. What if the exit only opens for a certain amount of days then closes for so many months?” Everyone falls silent, they never even thought of that probability. “I’m with James on this.”

That’s when the bickering between Anne, Owe, James, and Des began.

Sapph stayed on the sidelines, watching them intently but Quinn just kept eyes on Ky, about to make a rash decision. With swift movement, Quinn takes the syringe from Sapph’s hand, making sure that the needle part was out and ready.

They storm on over, pulling the blanket back, revealing her sports bra and skin. With the four still arguing, Quinn raised their right arm high above Ky’s chest and brought it down. The needle pierced the skin and without needing to press anything, the liquid seeped right on into the veins. Once it finished, Quinn placed the tube next to the left of Ky, settling it on the cot.

“Quinn!” Anne shouts, finally have noticed what they’ve done and hurried over to Ky’s side to check her over before going back to Quinn. “Why? Why—Why would you do that?!” She cried in panic.

“I’m sorry, okay. But she does need to wake up.” Quinn cupped her cheeks gingerly, speaking softly, making her look into their blue eyes. “Anne, you trust me, right?” She nods. “Then trust me when I say that this needed to happen.” Quinn’s thumbs stroke her cheeks for condolences.

Anne nods, moving in close and gave Quinn a tight hug. Quinn hugs her back tightly, resting their chin on her shoulder and peers over at Owe who seemed to not move from his spot. He was frozen, not having any proper reaction; just stood like a statue.

James places his hand on his shoulder sturdly, trying to shake him from his phase but it didn’t have an affect on him. Owe was in his own emotional turmoil, he just lingered his eyes to Quinn, not believing what they’ve done.

“If she dies, know that you broke one of the rules of the Isle.” He sadly remarks, turning to head out of the Infirmary Shack.

An hour passed and the sunlight began disappearing which meant the storm was underway. Owe shakes his head, sitting at his bunker in Necropolis, feeding an apple core to Phil the Deer, patting the top of his snout.

Owe had no clue why he had such a fascination for the calm creature. Maybe it like a forgotten memory? Maybe he once loved these mammals when he was littler. Maybe his father was a hunter, an explorer, a camping man, or even a zoologist, and maybe he used to take Owe with him; telling him all sorts of things of the Cervidae species.

Possibly, even with the forgetting, the Masterminds couldn’t of taken everything away. If him understanding these magnificent creatures was indeed a part of him before all of this—entering this Isle—then he’ll gladly take it with a gratitude. Just like how he took Phil from Bia’s clutch when she asked the Masterminds to bring up a deer for them to butcher for venison.

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to come with us, Philly.” Owe whispered silently. “You’re going to have to stay here. Sorry.” He sighs, standing on up. “Just make sure Bia doesn’t turn you into stew, alright?”

Phil shakes his head, his eight point antlers teetering from the movement, trotting off to his feeding pen that James and Dean had set up for him as Owe walked over to the bunker to gather up a few things into his pack.

[Dean](https://78.media.tumblr.com/e0de00fc0cf3c40841575ef77f9e4b32/tumblr_p4nr66WtXt1r2maypo2_500.gif) slowly walks up behind him, clearing his throat. “Hey, Owe. Um, you alright?”

“Peachy, Dean.”

He nods uncomfortably, scratching the back of his neck. “Well, I’m sorry. You know for the thingy. From last week.”

“It’s alright, Dean. I promise.” Owe glanced over his shoulder at him. “You thought I was Carlos and well, it was storming bad and our oil lanterns where burning low.” He shoots him a smile, focusing back on stuffing a few of his comics into his bag. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Really, because I wasn’t sure if it was too mu—”

“Hey, Owe, Dean!” [Charles](https://static.tumblr.com/6e0d6b7ca221219b19ad4c9f78bb2223/egoqpew/6gfnhb0to/tumblr_static_tumblr_static_bfnpo8bpsjs40cgcosk4kosc0_640.gif) ran on up on them, huffing and resting his palms on his shaky knees. “Storm’s rolling in. We have to leave now.”

Dean glanced back and forth between the boys. “And what about Ky?” Charles mumbled a “no”, shaking his head. “So what are we going to do without her?”

“My guess,” he pauses for a moment, “probably going to take her unconscious body with us and Cass is going to lead us to where they were.”

Owe rolls his eyes, fixing his hair behind his ears. “Pathetic.” He utters, huffing then pauses, feeling a small raindrop land on his arm. He then lifts his head, staring straight up at the dark grey clouds loomed over. “Muck.”

Outside of the Planner building, the Islers were lined up, ready to get their show on the road; boats were packed with weapons, oars were distributed, and their waterproof backpacks were filled with snacks. Jess made sure to grab her _Everything Knowledge_ book as a few Islers already nicknamed, doing some research on a few things that she noticed on the Harbinger. They waited peacefully.

“Ah, found it!” Jess says sharply. “Slit pupils. It says here that the human pupil is round but for some species, like cats, their pupils are vertically split. A vertical pupil allows a predator to have a longer length of focus during the daytime thanks to its elongated thin shape. It allows a small predator to see horizontal movement in a clear focal point—useful for when they’re spotting prey from low to the ground. However, it’s less useful for taller predators who ambush because their head is higher in respect to the horizontal plane of the ground.”

Jess closes her book back up, placing it into her pack as she watched Dean, Owe, and Charles head on over to join them. Des begins taking her knives, placing them into every little pocket on her cargo pants. “You implying that we stay low because then the Harbingers won’t see us?”

She nods. “As long as they’re up high, we stay down.”

“At least we have an actual plan now, instead of going in there full blazing fury.”

Hayley looks to her, nudging her with a smile. “We’ll have each other to rely on, you know that right, Des?” She meets Hayley’s gaze, seeming to blush before handing her over a wooden pole. “This for me?”

“Yeah. I made it for you so you can be safe out there. Don’t want you dying on me now.”

“Dying on you?” Hayley cracks a laugh. “Never. I couldn’t imagine a worser way to die.”

Bia steps on over with Sapph, seeing everyone getting ready to leave and ran her hand back through her hair. Everyone just watched, keeping quiet as she did. Finally, she speaks. “Before you all left me behind, Sapph wanted to make you guys bracelets because though we won’t all be together, at least our beaded wrists will act as if we are.”

Sapph smiles up at her, waiting for her signal to go and once Bia gives her it, she begins heading out; passing them out. “Each one has a different word and colors for everybody.”

James holds out his arm, watching as Sapph stretches the elastic band around his wrist, settling it. He quietly reads the band to himself, chuckling. “Thank you, Sapph. For _Hunk_.” She nods to him, continuing.

Quinn was given Slayer with pink, yellow, and blue beads, Anne had Boogie with pink, Des just received a red and black band that said nothing with one yellow bead and Hayley got the same but her colors were a mint green and yellow with one black bead. Jess got one that said Cutie Pie in purple and blue, Chloe was given one that just said Mom in blue, Cass had orange with Lovely, and Micky had a rainbow with the words Oovoo Javier.

Sapph then went up to Charles, Dean, and Owe, giving them theirs. Charles was blue, purple, and pink with a few peace sign beads, saying Charlos. Dean’s was a rainbow like Micky’s but said Wonderful. He thanked her and she apologized for writing on him in marker to which he accepted her apology, bending down for a hug. Sapph hugged him back, smiling wide, complimenting on his flowery smell.

Lastly, she went to Owe placing his beaded bracelet on him. It was all purely white except for one black bead, and it said Strong. “Thank you. I love it.”

“I knew you would.” She quickly gives him a hug and runs to give Bia hers. “Okay, what we do now? Leave?”

“Someone needs to get Sleeping Beauty.” Micky nods. “And I’ll go get my pal.”

“Micky,” Cass begins, “not him.”

“Yes him. We’re not leaving without him.” She licks her lips, whistling out loud.

Chloe eyes her for a moment. “Well, if Owe can’t bring Phil then we can’t bring Barton. There won’t be enough room.”

“Barton’s tiny and flexible as if he’s made of liquid. I can just stuff him into my bag and we’ll be good to leave this Isle.”

 _Yip, yip._ Micky turns, looking over to see a small figure of two feet, walking over to them on all fours until it comes to a stop, resting back on its hind legs. _Yip, yip._ The creature sounds and Sapph inspects it up and down with wonder and amazement. It had fur, colored like the sand that they stood on, a long tail that ended in a puff ball; reminding her of another animal that she couldn’t place but knew that it roared and lived in the Safari.

“What is that?”

Micky smiles. “Oh, don’t worry, Sapph. That’s just Barton.”

“Oh . .” She takes a few steps towards it, admiring and gushing over Barton’s long floppy ears that rested on the ground as he sat in his perch. “It looks kinda cu—” Barton’s ears lifted up, displaying their span of five feet, him smiling wide at Sapph in happiness while his tail wagged like a dog and big huge golden eyes locked on her dark ones. Sapph fell back on her butt away from the creature. “What the muck is that?!”

“We’re not even entirely sure.” Micky shrugs. “Ky once said that he looks like a demented cat with bat wings for ears. She named him Barton and well, we just kinda kept him close by. He can record our conversations. Full name is Bartholomew, but we call him Barton for short."

The girl stands with Owe’s help, dusting herself off to get rid of the sand. “Charming little thing, isn’t he?” She grouches. “Freaking scared the plop outta me.”

Micky picks up Barton, scratching his head which made him coo lovingly, lowering his enormous ears. “He just gets excited whenever someone gives him attention, love, and affection. Don’t cha, boy?” She plants a kiss on him.

Sapph scrunches up her face. “If we can’t bring the deer then we’re not bringing that dog, cat, looking meerkat.”

“He doesn’t take up too much room like a muckin’ deer.”

“He could! He’s ugly, we leave him.” She stomped her foot down.

“Sapph, you may be tiny but I’ll fight you.” Micky uttered in a half joking manner, opening her pack and Barton easily slipped on in, nesting inside and settling his chin on Micky’s shoulder.

“Cute guys, really.” Quinn places their hands up, motioning for them to calm down. “But we need to go, remember?” Micky and Sapph clear the air, nodding and relaxing. “Now, who’s gonna get Ky?”

 

\-----

 

Ky’s in somewhere around the age of fifteen, feeling her eyes becoming heavy until she hears someone walking by where she was. Her head picks up, thinking it’s the people in charge and pretends to be hard at work but slacks once she realizes that it’s just a young that seemed to be a year younger than her.

_“Hi.” She says kinda shy. The person sits down in front of her, across the room, seeing his face pass her hologram screen. He looked familiar but she couldn’t remember where from. “Sorry, I, uhh . . . . I don’t really know what your name is.”_

_“Well that’s because we never shared our names.”_ He remarks, wearing a blue shirt that had a black strip on the left breast alongside a barcode. The boy gives off a smile but she could tell that it was forced. _“Still working?”_ She nods at his question. _“Finished mine minutes go, I didn’t think anyone else was up.”_

_“Me either.”_

They sat in the silence as Ky went through the last three pages, laying them down and yawning from exhaustion. He studies her for a second then turns around looking out the window that showed the Swipe machines.

_“Interesting idea, isn’t it? Making the subjects forget everything when we send them in.”_

_“I guess?”_ She shrugs, not really knowing what to say about the ordeal since she found it kinda horrible. Before she knew it, she actually began sharing her true thoughts on the matter. _“It’s dehumanizing.”_

That peeks the boy’s interest. _“You think?”_

_“Memories shape who we are as people. Like your mom telling you not to touch the pan on the stove that’s hot but you do it anyway, hurting yourself; then the next time you actually remember and don’t touch. You remember how people treat you, either it be good or bad encounters, and you use that later in life to help someone else who’s currently through it.” She pauses. “We’re all a collection of experiences; every conversation, relationship, places we’ve been to, things we watch, things we’ve heard and seen. They’re all up here.” Ky then taps her temple, motioning to her brain._

He nods slowly, whispering, _“They’re important.”_

 _“They make us who we are. And without them, are we really us? Or just another version of us that’s trying to figure out nurture against nature?”_  

A small smile quirks upon his lips, revealing dimples. Once she spotted them, that’s when she knew that it was genuine and not plastered like before. _“I think that’s the smartest thing you’ve ever said.”_ He stands up, heading for her desk and reaches out his hand. _“Would you like that introduction?”_

Ky warmly smiles, standing up, nodding tenderly. She places her hand into his. _“I’m Ky Agnes.”_

_“And I’m Owe Rogers.”_

 

\-----

 

A gasping inhale fills the stale air of the backroom, followed by a small cough.

Ky’s eyelids peel back, letting light into her irises which adjusted them while the memories that she just experienced, as if for the first time, began being stored into her brain’s neurons.

Her stare fixes on the ceiling but she could tell that the area around her seemed somehow lighter, more colorful from being able to remember details of her life from before. There was now beauty, and it was something that she needed more of.

 _How long was I out for? What had happened? Did I miss out on anything? Was anyone else hurt?_ She kept on asking herself, hoping that everything since then had been in good hands.

“Ky?” She slowly blinks a few times, the voice seemed so strange to hear. It was clear, soft spoken, and easy to understand. “Hey,”

Something smooth and warm touches her right hand, enclosing around her four fingers which pressed them together in a little bundle. It takes a minute for her to figure out what it was; holding. Someone was holding her hand.

The voice pipes up again. “Ky?” Her attention moves down, seeing long brown hair and tender hazel eyes that loom over her. They hold her hand tighter but still remain gentle. “You alright?”

Ky nods gingerly. “Is everyone else okay?”

“Yeah. They were worrying about you the most, though.” He drifts his hand away from hers, seeing how she was trying to sit up and helped by placing a hand on her back.

Owe watches as she just keeps quiet, probably processing what she been through from what Bia had informed them about and the rules that applied. Don’t ask, don’t baby, and don’t pry. He swore that he wouldn’t; everyone did.

“Ky,” she looks up at him, holding his gaze before letting it fall and in her eyes, he could see how hurt she felt. A bubble of questions started up in his throat but he took a minute to gain composure, clearing it nonchalantly. “We should g—”

“I remember.” She speaks, eyeing her lap motionlessly. “It was like . . a dream but felt so real, because it was. It was memories of things I’ve forgot.” Ky picks her head back up to observe him and how he was processing what she was speaking of. “Things that I wished would’ve stayed in the dark.”

Owe knew what she meant. He remembered Bia telling them that she saw how Ky was working alongside the Masterminds in her own Preserve, though she seemed to have hated it. He could only imagine how that made her skin crawl and manipulate her thoughts of who she truly was as a person.

He licks his lips, moistening them to try and say something that’d calm her down but the beaded curtain moves, warning them of another person who was coming in. It was James. A smile growing upon his face upon seeing the both of them.

“I see Sleeping Beauty is awake.” He chuckles. “About time, did Prince Charming here kiss ya awake?” James nudges to Owe as he stood in front of the cot.

“Princess Charming, actually.” Ky nods to him in a sarcastic tone. “Yeah, she just left a second ago because she knew that Prince Adam was coming.”

“Sadly I didn’t bring you no rose but, I did bring you good tidings.” A pause. “And news that we’re needing to leave. Like now.”

That’s when it all went down hill for Ky; swinging her legs over to the side, sliding off from the bed, and standing up fast which made her dizzy to the point of losing balance. James and Owe both reach forwards, stabilizing her.

“I’m fine.” Ky brushes them off, taking in a deep breath. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days there, love.”

“Two days?” She went unresponsive, trying to register what that had meant for her and the Islers. “That means today is Day Seven. The big storm.”

James nods. “But everyone is ready and we can go, but need to move now. Alright, K?”

Without any indication that she was listening to him, Ky glances up and over her shoulder to Owe, her eyes glassy; piercing. He returns the look and from the expression she gave, _oh_ , how could she not know what it was doing to his heart.

 _Thump, thump, patter, thump._ His heart pounded in his ears.

“We’ll make it.” Owe exhales shakily. “We can do this.”

And with that confirmation, Ky turned back as her and the boys exited the building, seeing the group already in the boats, waiting. [Lina](https://78.media.tumblr.com/95d24003039465e88428f98a82954393/tumblr_p96vm2yyfi1xu20q6o1_500.gif)’s the first to notice, pointing over and everyone turns.

Quinn smirks, giving a nudge to Anne. “Told you.”

“Good to see you muck.” Hayley teases.

“Good to be back.” Ky smiles and scans her eyes over, spotting Bia who had her arms folded in front of her chest. “You still not coming? Looks like there’s still some room.”

Bia declines. “No. I’m staying. Besides, those spots are for you, James, and Owe.”

“Bia, I know we fought before . . But you can still come with us. You don’t deserve to be alone.” She pauses. “We can be a team, just like that month of me coming up in the Cube. It was you and me, you always said that it’d be you and me against everything.”

“I can’t go out there, Ky. Not again.” She shakes her head, dropping her hands down to her sides. “I’m sorry, I just . . I can’t.”

“This Isle isn’t a home.” Ky stares deeply into Bia’s eyes. “Your home is us.”

“And that’s the problem,” Bia whispers quietly so only Ky could hear her. “I can’t watch my family die.” And on the turn of her heel, Bia walked directly to the Convocation Hut, leaving them.

“K,” James gently places a hand on her shoulder, eyes on Bia but tears them away to focus on Ky. “Come on.” He slips his fingers down her arm, reaching her hand, intertwining their fingers. “Time’s up.”

He ushers them to the one boat, settling down in and Cass asked everyone if they were ready to get a move on. They hollered back with a yes and a _yip yip_ echoed out; they pushed off the shore, leaving and rowed towards the opening. Ky didn’t dare to look back, she pressed on, wishing for the future that was now in their grip.

 

Fraction 4 was still, quiet and Ky made sure that it stayed that way with shushing the Islers every so often. The five boats followed after hers, coursing gently through the stream, hardly needing to be rowed manually to reach their destination. Everyone was in amazement, eyes roaming around the landscape and Ky had to laugh through her nose; _if only they knew what lies ahead._

Jess kept her eye on the sky frequently, just waiting for the sky to bleed rain but nothing was happening which was very unusual for them. Mentally, she conjured up the fact that maybe it was different because of them leaving and the Masterminds had counted on it; that thought just brought on more worry.

On the far left in a boat was James, Owe, Sapph, Anne, and Quinn. Next to them was Dean, Cass, Charles, Jo, and Micky. The middle had Sarah, Chloe, Des, and Hayley and the right of them was Amirah, Faia, Charlie, and Mads. Lastly, on the far right, Samuel, Bridget, Jess, and Lina. Ky kept on taking ganders at them, rowing herself ahead just in case any trouble arises to threaten them.

“Okay!” She pipes up, still trying to manage her voice to a lower volume. “We’re approaching where the drain is. Guys, get your weapons ready.”

They all reached for their items, preparing themselves for the monster that they’ve witnessed days ago when it attacked Ky and stood up in the canoes. “Okay everyone, remember what I said.” Jess remarks.

"Remembered and noted!" [Mads](https://78.media.tumblr.com/0794fd82ef12a34364bc030074e80193/tumblr_inline_p95le7TSYN1urfelz_400.gif) nods. 

Ky had no idea what she meant but ignored it, scanning the surface of the water and the depths of it. Hayley takes notice. “What you doing? Aren’t you going to drain the Labyrinth?” She questions, remembering how Cass had mentioned it.

“Yeah but I need to go under.”

“ _‘Under’_?” Sarah and Jo mumble.

Ky then points to the water. “It’s down there, at the bottom.”

“Yeah, no thank you.” Lina nods then shakes her head. “I’m not about that. Bless it be you, Ky. You’re automatically my hero for doing this.”

“You could die.” Faia scoffs in worry. “That could be like thirty feet. You’d run out of oxygen by the time you got down there!”

Jess then came in with her knowledge. “Actually, a human can withstand free diving thirty feet. It’s true, she _can_ run out of breath but only if doesn’t time herself correctly. Also, if she has the lungs for it.”

“Ky,” Anne frowned. “We can just swim to the exit.”

She shakes her head. “No. Lina, Samuel, and Dean can’t swim. I’m not going to mentally scar them for the rest of their lives by nearly drowning _just_ because I didn’t drain the Labyrinth. Just . . I can do this.”

Ky eyes the water, raising her arms above her head, placing them together and spotted her stitches from the corner of her eye. Jess told her that getting them wet could produce an infection since they should’ve been soaked but that wasn’t on her top priority; saving her friends—saving her family—was.

She stepped off the side, taking in a gasp, arching downwards, and diving right on into the nipping cold water.

The Islers kept eyes strained, weapons at the ready, and tightened their bodies as their Fight-or-Flight responses kicked into hyper gear. Sapph tightened the oar in her grasp, non-moving as she scanned the water for any fins, bubbles, or movement of any kind. She makes a quick glimpse at Cass, _psst_ ’ing at her.

“What happens if the Harbinger attacks Ky from underneath?”

“What you mean?”

“Well, if draining the Labyrinth will kill a Habringer, an aquatic creature, it wouldn’t go for us. It’d go for Ky. So, what happens if it’s currently down there, fighting with her?”

That set everyone off course; none of them even thought that that could be a possibility. And yet, hearing it from Sapph, it made perfect sense.

Quinn sternly speaks, “we make sure that it doesn’t happen.”

Anne knits her brows, noticing how Quinn’s chest billowed out. “Wait, Quin—”

“Hey!” They yell out. “We’re here! Come and get us!”

Des joins in. “Fight us! We’re ready.”

Hayley, Charles, Faia, and Micky add to the clamor. Them banging on the sides of the vessels, shouting, making obnoxious noises; everything that they could do to attract the Harbinger, they did. Yet, the water still flowed through the passages and channels. There was no change, no sudden urgency. Nothing. Just dead still.

Sapph frowns, kinda disappointed. “Wow . . That was anticlimactic.”

That’s when all hell broke loose.

The long slender, taffy pink forked tongue of the Harbingers shot up through the water, wrapping itself around Ky’s empty boat and yanks it down into the water. The creature then pops its head out of the water, growling, snarling at all the Islers that resided before it before taking a quick dip back down into the abyss where Ky resided. With a quick move, Sapph smacked it in the back of the head with her paddle which didn’t seem to do much but annoy it.

“Sapph, stay back!” James barked, his machete in hand and not breaking his sight with the water.

“I can help!” she insisted, looking at Owe for backup but all he did was shake his head.

Sapph sighed, slumping back against her seat. Owe caught James’s eye and mouthed a “thank you”, receiving a nod in return. They stood shoulder to shoulder with Anne and Quinn, balancing out the other side of the boat.

Instantly, the Harbinger resurfaced, thrashing his head down into the water to create a tidal wave that rocked the boats ferociously. Boat 3 got the full brute force of it; Sarah, Chloe, Des, and Hayley all got knocked off, their canoe flipping over. The girls scrambled, gathering themselves up and climbed on top of the capsized vessel.

“Ky, whatever you’re doing, do it fast!” Jess yelled to the water as if Ky would be able to hear her from underwater. The Harbinger began knocking repeatedly into their boat now, nearly making it tip over. It almost seemed to be toying with them.

Eventually it knocked them, sending Bridget, Jess, Samuel, and Lina into the water. Lina and Samuel began freaking out, feeling themselves sinking, trying to move their arms and kick their feet to stay afloat. Quickly Jess got Lina while Bridget grabbed Samuel, swimming desperately to Boat 2.

Micky scoffed, readying her wooden pole that was originally Cass’s after helping the group up and in. “I’m a bad bitch, you can’t kill me!”

“Really, Micky? Now?!” James calls over to her.

From behind, there was a sound of rushing water and they whipped themselves around, witnessing another Harbinger making its very own appearance. “You gotta be splintface muckin’ us!” Micky was in disbelief. “There’s two?!”

Under the water, Ky was gripping the huge rusted wheel for the drain, trying to turn it but it was stuck to the point that using all of her strength was making her arms feel like limp noodles and palms feel rough. This was her third attempt with struggling. Her lungs tighten, warning her that she needed more air and released the wheel. She swims over to one of the structures, finding an air pocket and popped her mouth up in it; breathing for a good minute. She then gulps in more air, going back for another round.

On her way, she spots the dark silhouette of Harbingers attacking the Islers, making her body grow heated from feeling like she was running out of time. She needed to open this drain but couldn’t do it alone, she wasn’t strong enough. Ky shoved herself off from the platform with her feet, working her arms to reach the surface.

On top, Des had thrown a knife at the one Harbinger while Jess had her bow, loading it with arrows and firing them as quick as she could. James kept his machete tight, slashing at the tongue whenever it tried to reach for Owe and the girls. A few others tried their best with keeping the other Harbinger distracted but failed as it had lost interest in the boats and them.

“Guys!” Ky’s voice breaks and the Islers looked over, seeing her bobbing in the water. “The drain isn’t working! But I’m trying!”

“Try harder!” Des shouts back. “They’re kickin’ our asses!”

She nods, going back under and the Harbinger begins heading over in Ky’s direction; where she dove. Anne took notice. “It’s going after her! After Ky!” She tried to formulate a plan, but her thoughts were interrupted by a large splash and their boat teetering on the water. “Quinn?” She scoped around, trying to spot her friend, until she noticed a figure in the water that definitely wasn’t large enough to be a Harbinger. “Quinn!”

“What the hell are they doing?” Owe panted, getting on his knees to look closer in the water.

“Oh, bloody hell. Look.” James tapped Owe’s shoulder as well as Anne’s. The gang glanced on over, seeing Bia on her own boat with Phil in the back, settling.

“Bia!” Lina calls out in relief, happy to see her friend. “What changed your mind?!”

She smiles, standing up and unloading something that looked to be some piece of machinery. She props it up in her arms, aiming it at the one Harbinger, finger hovering over the trigger. “My family.” Bia pulls back her finger, the thing firing and a metal rod went flying through air, landing into the Harbinger’s neck which made it scream out in pain.

The gang from Boat 3 brought their capsized vessel close to Boat 4, banding together to fight the other Harbinger; using all the force and weapons they had to try to take it down. It wasn’t any good. All they could do was slow it down and keep it busy to buy Ky some time.

Bia helped Sarah into her boat since it was empty, seeing that the one Harbinger seemed to want to snap their boat in half. It gave her an idea.

“Chloe! Row closer!” At Chloe’s incredulous look, Bia raised her voice. “Just do it!” Chloe sighed, taking the oars and rowing closer to the best of her ability.

Des stood close to Hayley, seeing how she had something planned and huffed. “Bia, if you get us killed, I will kill you again in the afterlife.” They got as close as they possibly could, and Bia looked to Sarah.

“Jump.”

Sarah just looked at her, clearly not wanting to take her eyes off the Harbinger. “Are you insane?”

“Jump over to the other boat and do it fast. When this thing jumps out of the water to snap our boat in half, throw your spear and everything else you have at it,” Bia said, gesturing more wildly to the other boat. “Go!”

“Yep, you’ve officially lost your marbles, dear leader.” Nonetheless, Sarah leaped to Dean’s boat, and Cass caught her, safely pulling her aboard. Samuel jumped next along with Lina and Bridget, leaving Jess, Des, Hayley, Chloe, and Bia left to defend the Harbinger. Jess stabbed it with her machete, but lost it as she was unable to pull it out before the Harbinger sunk back underwater. It seemed to slow it down, at least.

Des, Jess, Hayley, and Chloe jumped, being that they were short on time, and Bia held her spear tightly. The Harbinger came back up, the top of its head showing as it skimmed through the water. “Come on!” She screamed at the rapidly approaching beast, despite the screams of the Islers behind her telling her to jump. As soon as it got close, Bia leapt off the boat, and when she landed safely on the other one, it came out of the water to snap the empty boat in half.

Right as it did, weapons went flying at it. A couple spears, a knife, and even an arrow lodged in its skin. It let out a cry of pain before sinking underwater completely. They hesitantly peered over the edge, Hayley being the first to speak. “Is it dead?”

“Not to be too hopeful, but … I think so,” Chloe said, and they watched as the Harbinger sank to the bottom of the Labyrinth, never to move again.

Quinn hadn’t popped back up from the water yet but Ky did, giving her stitches a few dry moments and new fresh air since there was no more air pockets underneath. The Harbinger that was attacking Boat 1 and 2 stopped, spotting Ky diving back down under and began swimming towards her; Anne searched the water for any sign of Quinn.

“Hey!” Their voice caught her attention, and everyone’s head turned to another part of the water, where Ky’s abandoned boat was. Quinn’s head was above the surface, and they were waving one of their arms, using the other to tread water. “Over here, bastard!” The Harbinger snarled, turning their gaze to Quinn. “Yeah, right over here, cupcake,” they goaded it on, gently swimming closer to the boat. “Eyes on me, not on her.”

“They’re diverting it away from Ky,” James said, eyes going wide. “They’re insane.”

“Quinn! What the hell are you doing?” Anne screamed, James holding her arm to keep her from jumping in the water after them. “Get out of there!”

Just as Quinn had the Harbinger distracted, Owe quietly slipped into the water, intending to swim where Ky had gone. He nodded at Quinn, who nodded back. “Yeah, pea brain, keep it coming,” they continued to taunt.

Sapph clambered to the edge of the boat, sending it rocking. “Owe, stop! You’re going to get hurt!”

Owe nodded. “Maybe. But that’s okay.” He looked at James. “Keep an eye on her.” And he dove underwater, swimming for where Ky was. Sapph and Anne looked helplessly at each other, unsure of what to do now.

Quinn, faced alone against a Harbinger, clambered onto the empty boat. “Throw something at this moron!” They yelled at no one in particular, pulling out their machete from its holster on their waist, stabbing it into the Harbinger as it went closer. Its thick skin acted as an armor, and Quinn’s weapon barely left a scratch.

Someone managed to lodge a spear in it, but didn’t go deep enough, and Quinn managed to pull it out just as it went underwater. Quinn kept stabbing at the water when they saw movement, triumphantly feeling it hit its mark a few times. _Like fishing_ , they absentmindedly thought.

Suddenly, something changed. The boats gave a lurch and everyone stumbled, looking down into the water for, god forbid, more Harbingers. Instead, the one that was going after Quinn let out a loud wail and swam away and around a corner.

“The water is draining!” Sapph shouted, and she was right. The water levels were quickly decreasing and their boats were falling with it, until they were standing on damp stone.

Everyone was silent with shock for a moment. “We did it,” Bia breathed. Someone let out a cheer, and that set the rest of the Islers off. They were a flurry of hugs and cheering, James pulling Sapph into a hug with the small girl letting out a slight squeal. Anne pushed past them, quickly finding Quinn who was looking for her as well.

“You’re such an idiot!” Anne shouted when Quinn reached out for a hug and she shoved them back instead. “You could have died! What would I have done if you died?”

“Hey, hey,” Quinn said gently, holding onto Anne’s arms. “It worked. I’m not going anywhere. You hear me?”

Anne sighed, leaning her head on Quinn’s chest and wrapping her arms tightly around their waist. “I’m still mad.”

Quinn laughed. “No, you aren’t.” They wrapped their arms around her neck, leaning into her hair and breathing in her scent.

Anne sighed again. “No, I’m not.”

“Where’s Ky?” Chloe was the first to ask.

James then glanced around as well. “And Owey?”

The Islers scanned the area, keeping a lookout and finally Mads spotted them in one of the stone structures. The two of them stood, soaking wet, faces red from holding their breath. Ky looked exhausted, leaning on Owe for support and glancing to the gang. Her eyes fixed on Bia, lifting her weary head to try and see more clearly.

“Bia?” Ky whispers, making Bia smile and when she does, Ky smiles too. She was grateful to see that her best friend decided to join them after all.

“Alright, Paddler.” Bia speaks up. “What we do next?”

“The tunnel,” Ky then pointed over where it was located. “Enter through there and there’s a beautiful section that has grass and these beautiful winged insects. We climb up the ladder and the exit is on the wall.”

“Okay, mucks! You heard her.” Bia nods. “Let’s get a move on this and leave this place!”

A few began moving over to the tunnel but some were scared. They had been locked in there without any knowledge of the outside world; who knew what it was actually like?

Bia stepped forward first, taking tentative steps into the tunnel. “Better sooner than later,” she mumbled, and the rest of the Islers followed suit. Ky watched them go, intending on being behind the group and spotted the one dead Harbinger, noticing the white patch on its throat and how it still glowed even though it was dead. She walks towards it. Hayley does too in case of an emergency.

Ky got down on her knees, scanning the Harbinger’s neck, touching it gently felt how it was soft unlike the rest of its body that was rough and felt tough like a suit of armor. While feeling around, there was a hard lump that seemed suspicious.

“Hayley, you have a knife?” She nods, reaching into her pocket and handed one to her.

Ky takes it, taking out the blade and jabbed the point into the skin, cutting it open as blood and goo leaked on out and onto the floor. She then stuck her hand in, feeling something like a beaded necklace and pulled it out, standing up.

“The hell is that?!” Hayley looks over at Ky, wide eyed, wielding her wooden pole that Des fashioned the end into a sharp point for protection.

“I think . ." She begins, lifting it up closer to her face, “I think it's the key to the door?” She pauses. “For the exit.”

“Well, good.” Hayley glances around, seeing the last of the Islers entering the tunnel. “Come up, Ky.”

Ky takes the hem of her shirt, wiping off the substance from the key and trotted asides Hayley.

The long, dark, narrow tunnel led them the other section like how Ky said, seeing a ladder that scaled up a huge platform that was resting in the sky. They just stared up at it in awed silence.

“Who’s first?” James broke the silence, and most of the Islers stepped back. Des walked closer to the ladder, gripping the bottom bar and shaking it to test its stability.

“Bunch of babies,” Des said, starting to climb up the ladder. They watched as she moved quickly up and disappeared over the platform.

“Well?” Chloe called up, and Des responded quickly, though her voice was faint.

“Get up here! You won’t believe this!”

The Islers exchanged glances, and James was first on the ladder, followed closely by Bia. One by one, they made their way up the ladder, and the sight on the platform took their breath away.

They were surrounded by a small field of bright green grass, witnessing the beautiful insects that fluttered around which Jess identified as butterflies. There was a huge oak tree that had colorful flowers blooming on its branches, Mads was dazzled by it, commenting on the hues of the petals. Owe spotted a toad, cupping his hands and picking it up, smiling as he held it. Chloe then eyed a door labeled Exit at the end, pointing to it for all of them to see.

Everyone waited until Ky had made it to the top before quietly and slowly moving across the grass to the totally-not-suspicious-exit-door. Sapph, without Owe there as her usual support, grasped onto Anne’s hand, who squeezed gently in response.

Once the last Isler squeezed in, the door for the tunnel slammed shut behind them. “Okay…” Quinn said, looking around. “Now what?”

Ky lifted up the key, revealing it to them and faced the door, heading up to it. She slowly inserted it into the lock, twisting it until a _click_ rang out which made them all jump. The key then shifted inwards away from Ky’s fingers, going into the slot and it closed. Silently, the door lifted up about a foot before it stopped; not going any higher.

“The muck?” Charlie remarks. “Is it jammed?”

“Ky, what’s going on?” Everyone began asking her, wondering if this was all a lie and/or a trick.

“Are we safe in here?”  
“What do we do?”

“Ky?”

 _Bing!_ The door chimes and a red light shines on the front, displaying a coded message. They all read it silently, not understanding what it had meant. A few of them just turned away, not wanting part of it as they focused on the greenery that surrounded them.

Sapph was in the back, too short to read. “What’s the thing say?”

“It says, ‘To continue, there must be one. To one, there must be an exchange. One thicker than water yet courses like a river. Be careful, the storm approaches and washes it out sooner’.”

“A riddle.” Jess nods.

“Okay? Is anyone good with riddles?” Sapph stares up at them. _“Anyone?_ Jess?”

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t. The book never gave me details about riddles.”

Instantly, the sky began crackling, dark clouds rolling in, making the section dark and grim; a dark blue color. Rain began sprinkling down in fast and Ky squinted her eyes, thinking of the riddle and eyeing the section. Suddenly, she knew why the tunnel door closed and why they needed to solve this riddle.

“Oh my God,”

“What?” Owe glances to her.

Ky looked to him, perplexed. “They’re going to drown us.” She shakes her head. “They’re going to drown us if we don’t solve this!”

“Guys,” Amirah says in a worried voice. “I don’t think drowning is our only problem!”

The Islers look over, seeing the one wall of the section opening, the bigger and more dangerous Harbinger creeps out, huffing and snarling. Lightning came down, striking it and instead of killing it, it made it’s spine light up in that luminescent blue color that had tricked Ky before into thinking it was some type of glowing bug.

Jess shook her head. “That’s impossible! That should’ve killed it!”

“Yeah, no shit.” Bia grabbed her weapon, reloading it with another rod.

Ky remembered how the Harbinger slashed her arm open, making her turn attention to her stitches and wound that looked absolutely disgusting and that’s what made her head click. “‘To continue, there must be one’.”

_That means one person._

“‘To one, there must be an exchange. One thicker than water yet courses like a river’.”

 _Blood. There_ has _to be blood._

Sapph noticed how Ky marched back to the door while the other Islers got their weapons ready to fight again, she followed. “Ky? You solved it?”

She stopped the door, seeing the slot where the keyhole used to be but now was a black opening that seemed to be able to fit an arm in it. Ky balled up her fist, clenching her jaw and took in deep, even breaths.

“Ky?” Sapph eyed her, concerned.

“It’s blood. One must sacrifice their blood.” And with no second to spare, Ky jammed her fist and entire arm into the slot. She felt pricks going into her arm, all stinging at once and she screamed out in pain which caused her to receive a headache.

The door lifted up more, revealing a dark room that had another red screen in it with a message displaying the words, Shut Down. Sapph eyed it and looked to Ky in a hurry, seeing her in immense pain; suffering to the point that tears were in her eyes.

“Sapph, go! Now.” She whimpered, holding herself up on the wall.

Sapph nods, turning and eyed the Islers. “Ky has the door open!” A few stare, tearing glances away from the Harbinger. “Some of us can go in! Hurry!”

Mads, Amirah, Charlie, Chloe, and the three that couldn’t swim; Lina, Samuel, and Dean—they all ran over, entering the room with Sapph while the others stayed to try and fight off the stronger Harbinger that they were facing.

Des kept throwing her knives until she was out, running in and Charles follows after. Faia had her pole, trying to jab at the creature but it turned, swinging its tail at her which batted her into the rainwater that was collecting faster down below. Bridget cried out, her knees going weak and she was ready to get hit next but Jo swooped in, getting her out of time. She took them to the room.

The storm got worse; lightning was striking all around, the rain felt like rocks hitting the Islers’s backs immensely but with the Islers working hard, fighting off the Harbinger, they paid no mind to it. Ky was yelling in pain from the wind blowing in every direction, her arm still in the hole in order to keep the exit wide open. "Come on!" She yells, water gliding off her face, soggy hair clumping to her neck. "Hurry!" She yells out in pain.

Jess, Anne, Micky, Cass, and Quinn retreated but Quinn stopped midway, looking to her. “Ky, you need to rest! Let me change spots with you!”

“I got it! I promise!” Ky cried out. “Just get in there! Go!”

Quinn sadly nods, heading in but not before calling out to James, Owe, and Bia who were still fending off the monster.

James had taken over Jess’s bow, shooting at the Harbinger in the eyes, hitting target every time but the huge creature still managed to bat at him. Quickly, James did a dive roll, having the Harbinger miss him.

Bia noticed the water level rising higher and higher, almost to the platform that they stood on and she knew that the door needed to be closed before it go any higher. “We need to get out of here! Now! James, Owe! Let’s go! The water is rising!”

Owe was just about to run but paused, seeing Phil the Deer swimming perfectly and that amazed him. “Phil can swim?!”

“Owe!” James called out from behind him and Owe turns, seeing the Harbinger’s mouth open, tongue ready to strike and hissing at him. The tongue darts forwards but Owe is moved out of the way by James’s body smashing into his. They topple over and the tongue continues to dart, aimed at Ky.

She stood in horror to see it only a few feet away, screaming out, turning back to the wall in a hover. The monster’s tongue jabs the wall above her head, making the concrete web-crack.

Ky looks up, seeing it retreat and stands up slowly. “Owe!?”

“He’s okay!” James helps the lad up. “I got him!” The boys run over, entering the room and Bia took a shot at the Harbinger, the harpoon landing in its throat which made its bodily substance explode out. The creature let out a wail, tipping over into the water which created a huge wave that splashed up on them.

“Someone get Phil!” Owe called out from the room.

“We’re not saving the jackwagon deer!” Micky bickers.

Ky weakly glanced out, seeing that the water was now at the platform, scaling up into the grass and watched as Phil swam over, standing on top of it. She whistles. “Philly! Come here, boy!”

His ears perk up, hearing her calling for him and runs on over, entering the room.

Bia looked to Ky as she ran over. “You think you’re going to have enough time to come in here.” She nods and Bia enters, settling back in the one corner and Ky finally removed her arm from the slot. Once she did, the door fell down instantly, shutting her out.

“No!” Anne screams.

Ky knew that it’d happen but didn’t want to worry anyone. She backs away from the door, closing her eyes and instantly felt someone shove her from behind. She stumbled, temple landing into the cement door which caused her to groan, sinking to her knees.

She slowly turns, glancing up with her vision blurred, seeing the silhouette of a girl. “F . . Faia?”

“No.” Her voice rings out which makes Ky go in shock. “It’s me.”  The girl picked her up by the tank top straps, shoving her back into the wall and Ky grabbed onto her hands. “You left me. Out here!” She screams, still shoving herself back into the wall. “You left!”

“I thought you were dead!” Ky calls out in distress, the girl swinging them around and lets Ky go which has her flying into the grass that was now a marsh.

Her brain was trying to register everything that had happened, her whole right arm still stinging and bruised. Her eyes caught sight of it for the first time that she released it from the slot and it was the most gross thing she ever laid eyes on; it was black, blue, with purple tints. There was small bloody punctures from something that reminded her of needles and her veins were a deep blue color.

The girl draws closer and Ky tries to use her arms to help her up but cries as pain shot through the right one, dropping her down into the water. “Sasha, trust me. I didn’t know.”

“Too late for that.” She picks Ky up, throwing her onto her back and grabbed her neck. “You left me to die, I’ll do the same.” Sasha then plunged her head back into the water, choking her.

Ky struggled, trying to gasp for air and trying to reach up to reach her eyes with her fingers, to press on them but she had no idea where she was looking since her blood wasn’t flowing properly.

Second by second, Ky felt her lungs clenching, wanting air but she knew that she wouldn’t have it. And once that settled in, she decided not to fight it; _it’d only be worse if I fight it._ She thought. Her hands stopped, falling down into the water and she relaxed herself, feeling weightless and calmed herself.

The grip on her neck was still tight but Ky didn’t mind, she just accepted it.

[Sasha](https://78.media.tumblr.com/d7a64c71f1c3036fdc5db0252e621530/tumblr_inline_p7judrm6h81rlmk3j_250.gif) grinned, witnessing how Ky became limp but lost it once she felt someone kick her in her side. She fell off to the side, splashing into the three feet of water and winced. Her dark eyes shot around, seeing Bia and Anne. “Well, isn’t it the best leader?” She sneered at the sight of Bia.

“Ky?!” Anne cried out, seeing her body floating lifelessly and grabbed her. “Bia! I don’t think she’s breathing!”

“Take her to the room!”

Anne didn’t need to be told twice, she grabbed Ky, dragging her towards the room, calling out for help. Dean and James hurried out, picking her up while it was now Quinn would kept the door open with her arm.

Sasha stood up, cackling. “What makes you think she’s better than anyone else?”

“She isn’t. She’s a kid. We don’t harm each other. You knew that, Sasha.”

“So did you, the day you left me out here.”

Bia nodded. “Yeah, my mistake. I should’ve came back for you.” Her eyes lingered down, seeing that she has a slash on her leg that had the Harbinger goo on it. “But looks like you’re not yourself quite yet.” She picked up her harpoon gun, butting Sasha in the face with it; knocking her out cold.

Bia then grabbed her body, dragging it towards the room and rested her in with the others. She then darted her eyes to Quinn, setting her gun vertically up under where the door would come down.

“Okay, Quinn. On three. One, two . . . Three!” Quinn removed their arm, running and slipped under the door as it came down, crashing onto the gun. From the amount of force, the gun shot out from underneath, closing and placing them into the darkness. “Sapph, the button!”

With the press, an alarm sounded and the room shifted downwards reminding all of them of the Cube.

James, Anne, Bia, Quinn, and Owe all surrounded Ky’s body, trying to get her to come too but was having a hard time doing so. Jess quickly suggested for them to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation which involved chest compressions and two breaths. Before anyone could ask how to do so, James was already making the moves.

He tipped Ky’s head back at a tilt, parting his lips while gently pinched her nose and cupped her chin, leaning down and giving her breaths that raised her chest.

Sapph watched, confused. “Is he kissing her?” She whispered to Owe, not understanding what was going on and held tightly onto his shoulder since he was kneeling.

“He’s giving her the breath of life.” Jess answered.

After the two breaths, James placed his two hands above the left side of her chest, pressing down hard thirty-two times in a constant pattern. He then leaned back down, pinching her nose and all, breathing his own air supply into her lungs.

“Come on, Ky. Please.” Anne whispers, clinging onto Quinn’s hand for emotional support. Owe slipped his hand up to Sapph’s, resting it on top and felt himself getting teary eyed.

“Ky, come on.” James now began, doing more chest compressions. “We need you. You’re a fighter. You still have some fight left in you.” He bent back down, giving her one breath and on the second one, he felt his mouth fill with water and backed away, hearing Ky coughing.

The room filled with happy sobs, thankful that their friend was alive as she looked all over, her brain pounding. She took in deep breaths, eyes looking to Anne, Quinn, Owe, Sapph, Bia, then James.

He smiled. “I hope you didn’t mind . . Kiss of life, ya know.”

Ky weakly laughed. “Thank you for saving my life.” She slowly sat up and he helped her, making sure that she was alright and they all settled in the room that was taking them down to some place.

 

When the room had stopped moving and the door opened, they wandered out and found themselves in a long narrow hallway with marble flooring and chairs. The Islers kept on walking and made it to a glass door. Des opened it up for them, walking in first, eyeing the room but then gasped. People, men and women, all in white coats and outfits were laying on the floor in their own pools of blood.

Everyone started looking around, eyeing the mess and blood, the broken, shattered glass. Pieces of ripped up papers on the floor and sprawled out on desktops. A few had walked around the side and others went the other way, eyeing screens which held footage of their Isle. James carried Sasha’s boy, lugging her around effortlessly while Owe guided Phil through and Barton escaped from Micky’s bag, resting in her arms.

Ky spotted a familiar desk, stepping up to it and noticed a blinking, flashing light in the corner of the screen. She pressed it.

A video came up and started playing. It was of an older woman with blonde hair up in a hairdo, wearing white. “Welcome back, after two years, you've guys had made it out. Congratulations.” She smiles. “Since you're out, there's something you must know, the world isn't what you remember.” She frowns a litter before continuing. “The sun flares couldn’t have been predicted. Sun flares are normal, but these were unprecedented, massive, spiking higher and higher—and once they were noticed, it was only minutes before their heat slammed into Earth.”

Just then the video showed things like cars on fire, burnt land, a massive sun, and woods, trees on fire. Things like that.

“First our satellites were burned out, and thousands died instantly, millions within days, countless miles became wastelands. The fallout was unimaginable. What came after was worst. We called it the Flare.”

The feed then switched to a brain scan, showing something like a parasite moving around through cells. Then it turned into a man who had blood leaking from his mouth, thrashing around in a medical room.“A deadly virus that attacks the brain. It is violent, unpredictable, incurable. Or so we thought.”

The feed went back onto her, staring at the Islers. “In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed inside harsh environments where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand what makes them different . . . What makes you different. You may not realize it . . . but you're very important.” She pauses and in the background, men in black suits charged in, beginning to shoot people. “Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun. As you will no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us . . . for me . . . but not for you. The outside world awaits. Remember, WCKD is good.” The video then cuts out.

Behind the Islers, a door opened up and the sun and fresh air comes in, greeting all of them. They all turned and started to walk down the hall. As they did, men in black came rushing in, greeting them.

“You alright?!”

“You kids okay?!”

“Get everyone on the helicopter! Now!”

The teens were guided, being taken out into the intense, hot heat of the sun where they all glanced around, seeing sand everywhere in every direction. A few tripped from being weak and being too busy with scoping out the location; this was a whole new thing for them and it was scary.

For Owe, they yelled at them, saying that they had no room for a deer and he literally fought them, determined to save Phil but they weren’t taking his word for it. They just grabbed him, trekking them on out to the helicopter as Sapph followed behind. From witnessing that, Micky snuck Barton back into her pack and loaded herself into the back with the other Islers.

Ky was the last one, getting into the helicopter and sat in between Owe and Quinn. The man closed the door to the helicopter after he got himself in, taking off his helmet and eyed the kids who had soggy hair, dirty faces, looking like bats from hell. The helicopter lives off from the ground and they all freeze, still keeping eyes on the main.

He smiles. “It’s alright. You’re safe. Everything is about to change.”

Ky frowned, leaning back and glanced out of the window, seeing their Labyrinth and instantly felt the horror, anger, and even sorrow. In that moment, she saw how for two years of their lives, they had been connected to civilization; to WCKD. They were literally surrounded by them and yet, there was never any help.

She sits back, feeling numb and instantly eyed the group, noticing how Faia was gone. Her bottom lip quivered, tears seeping to her eyes but she tried blinking them away. Ky adjusts, resting her head on Quinn’s shoulder and finally let it go. The tears came out, falling down her cheeks and Quinn frowned, giving her a kiss on the head and made eye contact with Owe.

Slowly, Quinn had Ky shift over to his shoulder since they knew that Owe was capable of calming her down. Ky curled up on him, trying into his black shirt, and he lifted his arm, wrapping it around her.

The helicopter kept on flying, heading straight for the Scorch and to the facility where Phase Two was awaiting them.


	7. PART 2, CHAPTER 1: Opening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transported to a remote fortified outpost, the Islers find themselves in trouble with WCKD and travel through the Scorch that's filled with dangerous obstacles and Cranks. With help from a new allies, the Islers try to find the Right Arm, a group of resistance fighters who can help them battle WCKD.

Snow was falling outside the window from where Ky could see, snuggled up in her heavy knitted blanket that had a flower pattern on it. Stream of lights shone in, reflecting off the wooden ceiling tile. The door to her room opens, a tall figure of a man stands there but then crouches down as the light tries to find him, sneaking over swiftly, peering over the bedside. Her head turns, seeing his face and features; she knows that this is someone she can trust.

“Sweetie, come on.” His voice is harsh but forbearing; trying not to worry her, trying not to scare her. That was the last thing that he needed in a time like this. “We need to play Hide and Seek.”

“But Daddy, you said it was bedtime.”

“I know I said that, but this is a new game. I’m going to need you to come with me so we can hide, alright?” She nods. “Try to keep out of sight.”

Ky gingerly moves, uncovering her legs from the comforter as the man leaned his calloused hand outwards, reaching her tiny one. He tugs on her arm for momentum, helping with moving them along. Once her toes touch the floorboards, he takes her into his muscled arms, keeping her snug and sneaks back out of the room.

He hurries out in the hallway, hearing the dogs outside bark which meant that they were coming closer. The pit in his stomach grew, consuming his heart that was beating wildly, pulsing in his ears. He needed to keep this little girl—his—little girl safe with every fiber of his being. Made himself that promise on that fateful day.

His arm stretches out, quickly grabbing his coat that hung on the coat rack, placing the hood over his head then slipped his arms into the sleeves one at a time to try and not drop his daughter. He then gets her coat, settling her down and placed it on her body, zippering and placing the hood up as well. This was a mission and time was running out the more that he stayed in that house. A race against time. A race against them.

The four year old is taken back up in his embrace, trekking out into the two feet of snow that had accumulated on the ground during the evening. The moon was out, bright, acting as a torch for him to guide him and his daughter safely out and into the woods where he kept a shack for emergencies. The bare limbs of trees were covered in icicles and frost, swaying delicately as the cold air nipped at it.

Ky kept her face nuzzled in his warm neck, eyes closed as she was trying to go back to sleep from being exhausted but upon hearing chattering and dogs barking, she opens them. Her head perks up, chin resting on the man’s shoulder, catching flashes of about five lights and figures darting into the side of their home; entering in and scouting around. Her eyes catch sight of one of the dogs, recognizing it as a German Shepard and pointed with her chubby, little fingers.

“Daddy, doggie.”

He stops, cradling the back of her head, turning to see _them_ in their home. He waits for the signal. After a moment or two, he finally gets it.

From within the house, the vinyl machine that he had set up with a tripwire begins playing loud and obnoxious, since he connected it with a few old speakers. With that notion, he knew that they were in the living room. There was still time.

The man turns back, bracing his child, darting through the winter woods towards their shack. His daughter clings around his neck, fully wide awake, listening to the song that was slowly disappearing in the distance the further they got away.

“Daddy, that’s our bedtime song.” She chimes.

“I know, sweetie.” He cooes.

Up ahead, his light eyes spotted the shack and suddenly, there was reason for hope. He ran faster, but still took his time to make sure that he wouldn’t fall with the snowshoes that he had on. Ky still kept a lookout on behind, still hearing the bedtime song that they always listened to or even sang. Even the melody of it was making her tired.

At the door of the shack, the man reached into his coat pocket, grabbing the key and shoved it into the padlock. He unlocked it, swinging the door open and took them inside where he sat Ky down. She watches as he shuts the door, locking it back up and wanders to the little heater that they had, turning it on.

The shack was made from logs, tiny yet big to the little one. There was a cot over in the corner, flowers that hung upside down from the ceiling as well as old raccoon tails, a few wool blankets that were folded up on a chair, and there was four boxes of gun shells accompanied by a rifle that hung up on the wall stand. There was also the smell of pine from the surrounding trees and it was comforting.

The man grabs for the rifle, taking off of the shelf along with the one box of ammo, stocking up the barrel while Ky watched him. She stood over by the heater, trying to stay warm, focused on her father’s five o’clock shadow, bushy brows, and bed head. He finishes with the gun, taking off his snowshoes and grabbed a pair of boots by the door that he normally wore for haunting.

His eyes scan the room for a movement, landing on his daughter and smiled gently. “Hey sweetie.” The man headed on over after tying up his laces, kneeling down in front of her. “You want to sing our song?” She doesn't give an answer and he doesn’t wait for one, just gradually picks her up and sits her on the cot; making her lay back on the pillow and get comfy.

Her sight never leaves him while the sounds of the men in suits and the dogs barking throughout the night get closer and closer with each passing minute. He hears them too, but ignores, concentrating on his four year old child.

“Let’s sing our nighttime song, okay?” He raked his fingers through her hair.

He licks his lips, the words rolling off his tongue as he began speaking the melancholy lyrics that relaxed his daughter to bed every night as she doze off into her slumber.

 

_Bones sinking like stones_

_All that we've fought for_

_Homes, places we've grown_

_All of us are done for_

 

Outside he hears the men, their voices clearer and easy to hear what they were saying. They were _very_ close now.

He quickly presses a kiss on Ky’s temple, leaving his lips there while tears swelled up in his eyes, squeezing them shut which forced them out and down his cheeks. With a moment of weakness, he composes himself of strength, sniffling and backing away.

“Finish the song, okay?” His eyes meets his daughter’s for one last time. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He stands up from where he was sitting on the cot, going for the rifle, cocking it. His eye then peered out of one of the door cracks, seeing the group of men in black with their guns that had lights on them, inspecting the surrounding area that was around the shack.

Ky curls up on the cot, scooting herself back to the wall and could still hear the record playing from their house that was about a hundred and twenty feet away from the shack. They had moved to the middle of nowhere after her sibling had been taken almost a month back. There was no neighbors, no other homes, nothing. Just the woods. They moved because her father knew they’d come for his youngest daughter but never said anything. He just had them relocate and during that time, had prepared for the next invasion.

The man unlocks the door, escapes out, shutting it behind him, and locks it up again.

Ky gulps, closing her eyes and listens in to the background noise; the record. She hears the strain looping back to the same verse that her father just sang and she sings it too.

 

_Bones sinking like stones_

_All that we've fought for_

 

Shots ring out as well as yelling and something that crackles like firewood being struck by an axe. The dogs bark like crazy now, going off like those motion detector Halloween decorations that you passed by mindlessly in stores. Ky covers her ears tight, still continuing on with her lullaby.

 

_Homes, places we've grown_

_All of us are done for_

 

Suddenly and violently, the door to the shack blew in and men in black suits and helmets stood there, seeing Ky on the cot.

“Grab the child. We need to move on out.” The one up in front speaks.

One guard nods in command, taking the first steps towards the small child, picking her up. She didn’t fight nor freak out, but she did try searching for her father.

“Daddy?” Her childish voice squeaks out while she was being taken out of the shack, scoping out for any sign of her father and what had just taken place.

On the snowy ground, there was four guards laying down next to their guns. Ky’s eyes fixes on them before wandering off and upwards, catching the scene her dad laying on his back. Next to him was splotches of red, like a cherry snow cone just fell onto the cold floor of the earth with such carelessness. But she knew that it wasn’t. It was worse.

“Daddy!?” This time, she tries to fight out of the guard’s grasp; kicking, screaming. “Daddy, can you hear me?! Daddy, please!” She begged with desperation. “Da-ddy!”

 

“Ky!” She jolts awake, seeing Quinn staring down at her in a frantic. Their eyes were narrowed, focused, and their body language was in a hurry. “Hey, we gotta go! Come on!” Quinn then slides on out of the helicopter, rushing towards some building with the other Islers in the pale blue night.

Ky sits herself up, wrapping her brain around the area and trying to catch glimpses but one man who was wearing goggles and had a cloth tied around his head captured her forearm, pulling her out and onto the mounds of sand.

“You alright?” He asks her but she doesn’t respond since everything is going in a fast pace. He repeats, “You alright?” Ky gives off a nod. “Come on, hurry up! Head inside! Go!”

She focuses ahead, seeing the huge metal building before her that had dazzling lights, looking like something out of a story book.

The Islers, her friends, were being huddled in as they ran and she followed while the man who ushered her forwards yells out something that she couldn’t hear over the propellers of the helicopter. Gun fire started and Ky ducked out of instinct, the noise throwing her off and making her stumble to her knees. She raises back up with someone’s help, hurrying down the long stretch of walkway towards the building.

With a quick glance back, she sees that the men were firing at things that were on the sand dune, running, sprinting down to where they were. Or at least tried to. More men came out from the building, brandishing their guns to help the others with terminating the threat that was on the horizon.

“Tell him to take off! We’re clear!” The guy who was leading Ky off shouts to another and after what only seemed to be five seconds, the helicopter began lifting off as one of the things that the armed men were shooting at held on tight to the landing skids. A man took aim, shot, and the being fell off to the ground.

Ky faced back around, seeing the two doors closing in towards one another and the man pressed her in on her back. She makes it through, seeing the group all together, eyes floating all around the room to take it all in. The doors behind shut and she watches, noticing how the locks pressed in, securing the doors. With a step backwards, she joins the gang, looking all around in wonder and amazement.

It was like a storage place filled with workers who were transporting boxes with machinery, fixing and building things with equipment that Ky couldn’t recognize, and she even spotted some blue screens that had reminded her of the ones that they seen back at WCKD when they escaped their Labyrinth. An alarm blared in the back, flashing red and she wasn’t sure if it was meant for them or if it was for the creatures that were on the outside of that place.

A man strolls up to the group with a few others, not saying any words as they crowded them, leading them to a certain hallway. Everyone was hushed, stunned, all except for Quinn who was demanding to know what they were doing to them. There was no answers. Their questions was just met with shoving and secrecy.

The Islers were all piled into a darkened room, pushed in. “Hurry, hurry!” The men break their silence. “Get in!” And once they all were, the door closed right behind, sealing them into the darkness.

Quinn banged on the door. “Where’d you put us?! Huh? Tell us, you cowards!”

Sapph joined in. “And what’s happening out there?!”

“Nothing that we can’t handle!” One remarks from the hall; they walk away.

Quinn bangs on the door again. “Let us out! Or so help me, I’ll jam my foot up your—”

The light then flickered on, capturing Quinn’s attention and they stop, slowly looking around to see the huge table that rested before them filled with tons and tons of food.

Jess grinned, casually strolling over, eyeing it all. “Mash potatoes, green beans, turkey, corn, grapes, chicken, bread! And rice!”

Micky launched forwards. “Move on over! I’m mackin’!”

And with that spur of the moment notion, all the Islers filed after to gorge themselves with the salty, mouthwatering carbs, starches, and meats. James and Owe went straight for the turkey while Anne, Sapph, Micky, and Cass headed for the chicken. Lina dove for the bread and butter, Hayley and Des took on the grapes while Ky snatched the bowl of mash potatoes, using her fingers to scoop the white fluffy clouds into her mouth. Bia grabbed the fruit bowl that was also there, snacking on them with Charlie and Samuel. Dean, Quinn, and Charles went for the green beans and Sasha for the corn.

“Oh, my goodness. This such good food!” Dean mumbles with his cheeks full. “Better than what Owe could ever do.”

“Oh man, that hurts, deeply.” Owe teases because he even agreed. He was a good Preparer but there was places where his skills could’ve been improved.

Sapph laughs, nodding along with what Dean said and grabbed for the rice, throwing it at Owe and James. James shakes his head, laughing, and grabs the pitcher of water, eyeing the little Isler. Her brown eyes then grew huge in size. “No! No!” She dashes off and James follows, threatening to splash her.

Des then grabs some corn from Sasha, chucking it at Anne. Anne laughed, yelling, “That’s biphobic, Des!”

“Bi?” Micky perks up, “Thought you was American.”

Ky then took out a mound of potatoes, flinging it at Micky which landed all in her blonde hair. She cackled and Cass dipped her fingers in butter, smearing it all over Ky’s face.

It was instantly a fight amongst them, food flying in the air and landing on everyone’s shirts, faces, hair; it was the most proper fun that they’ve ever had. Even Bia was in on it. The only person who wasn’t was Sasha, she just gathered up the food that she wanted to eat and ventured to another table that was in the room. She just watched them play around, having a joyous time while she was wallowing in the place that was her home for years. With them, she felt like an outsider and she basically was.

After a while when everything was settled and they finished up eating what was left over and not ruined, they sat and talked about minor things until Des began with a question that was secretly on everyone’s mind.

“Does anyone of us have any idea who these people are?” She folds her arms in front of her chest, relaxing back against a pillar. “Why’d they break us out of our Labyrinth to bring us here?”

“We did see them in that video that the lady left for us; killing WCKD. They’re the good guys.” Mads pipes up, sitting next to Chloe. “We’re safe here.”

Bia nods, slightly smiling. “We are. For once, we are. We’re free and no longer in that horrible rainy place filled with Harbingers.”

The sound of the door opening makes them all stand up, glancing over to see a man in a white greyish turtleneck and black leather jacket with hair that was topped brown but the sides were eggshell colored. His blue eyes linger over them and their faces as they stroll up, stopping a few feet away.

“You kids doing alright?” His thick Irish accent inquires. “Sorry about all the fuss. We had ourselves a bit of a swarm. But that’s over now, the threat has passed.”

“And who are you?” Quinn remarks, standing besides James and Anne.

He looks to them. “I’m the reason you're all still alive. It’s my intention to keep you that way. Now, come with me. We'll get you kids squared away.” The man steps back into the hall, being to walk off and the group looked to each other.

“I don’t like him or his rat face.” Quinn says bluntly.

Des shrugs. “I mean, he did save us. The least we can do is follow him.”

“Should we though, Des?”

She looks to Bia. “You think we should follow?”

Bia sighs, “There’s no harm in it. Besides, I’d like some answers.”

“So do I.” Des states, looking to Quinn. “Looks like the leader agrees with me.”

Anne noticed how Quinn’s face was getting scrunched up which is what normally happens when they got angry so Anne moved hastily, holding Quinn’s hand tight and gave it a tender squeeze.

No one made a move and it was because the situation was very unusual. None of them knew how to communicate to others other than their little group of Islers; they been sheltered for so long that any other person they met was like an instant threat.

Sasha was the first to make her way up through the group and out into the hallway after the man. Des follows after with Hayley, Jo, Sarah, Chloe, Mads, Bridge, and Bia. Everyone else just still stood in the room, all making eyes towards Ky.

“What you say, K?” James begins, nudging her since she stood on the opposite side of him.

Ky glances up to him then to everyone else, seeing how they were wanting on her call which surprised her. She nods and they all began heading on out while she just kept still, her mind not fully there since she was trying to remember the memories from her Preserve but now, they just seemed to blur and misshapen. She was even trying to remember her dream that she had on the helicopter.

Lina stops at the door frame, noticing how Ky just kinda looked lost and went to her, reaching for her hand. “Ky?” She looks up, seeing her hand that was outstretched for her and gently takes it into hers.

“Thanks.” Ky whispers to her as they headed on out, hand in hand.

Through facility the group walked after the man who was speaking but Ky and Lina were too far back, trying to catch up that they miss the beginning of his touring speech. But they were there for the rest of it.

“I run this place. For us it is a sanctuary, safe from the horrors of the outside world. You all should think of it as a way station.” He announces, taking a left and they followed right after. “Kind of a home between homes. Watch yourselves.”

He pauses, motioning towards a few sparks that were flying down. James sees them and notices how Sapph was about to walk in the fall of them, moving her off to the side swiftly.

Anne smiles with hope. “That mean you’re taking us home?”

“A home of sorts.” He nods. “Sadly, there wouldn't be much left of wherever you came from. But we do have a place for you. A refuge, outside the Scorch, where WCKD will never find you again. How does that sound?”

“The Scorch?” Ky then pipes up, getting his attention. “Is the Scorch the desert outside?” He nods in response.

Bia then takes over. “Why are you helping us? Why’d you save us from WCKD?”

He takes in a deep breath. “Let’s just say the world out there is in a rather precarious situation. We’re all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact that you kids can survive the Flare virus makes you the best chance of humanity’s continued survival. Unfortunately, it also makes you a target, as no doubt by now you’ve noticed.”  

He goes around the one corner, existing the working area and led the Islers to a metal door like that one that they entered when coming into the facility. He stops at the door, going over to a keypad and took out his card, swiping it which granted access. The metal door rises upwards, revealing a long narrow hall that was lit with white lights and seemed to give off weary vibes.

“Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives. But . . First things first,” his eyes gaze over them for a moment, “let's do something about that smell.”

 

The fresh, warm water seemed to wash away everything of the Isle. It was relaxing, spacious, and something that they all desperately had needed. The Islers never had proper showers let alone shampoo, conditioner, body soap, and shaving cream and razors. The girls and Quinn were beyond thankful for the items; shaving their armpits and legs, making them smooth to the touch. Meanwhile James and Owe stayed put in the next room over, waiting for the girls, Quinn, Dean, and Charles to finish up since there weren’t that many stalls.

In one stall, Anne and Quinn were together so Sasha could get in the last opened one. The people didn’t discriminate it. Maybe it was because they thought Quinn was like the females but in fact, they weren’t. They were, as Jess said, non-binary. Quinn preferred them and they as pronouns, nothing else; as they told the Isler before when arriving in the Cube.

Anne and Quinn were the first ones out, changing into towels and exit to the door on the left side of the room that look them to the dressing area for new clothes. Bia then joined them along with Mads, Sasha, Des, Hayley, Samuel, Charlie, and a few others. All of them got dressed in the room, waiting for the rest of their group and just talked like before.

Samuel ringed out her long, red hair before putting it into a side braid with a small elastic. “Man, a shower and new clothes. I never thought I’d be this clean.”

“I think that’s something we can all agree on,” Charlie smiles wide, looking to Samuel.

Charles puts on a long brown sleeved shirt, facing the girls and Quinn, clearing his throat which made them all look at him. “I think, since this is a new beginning for all of us, and me . . . That I’d like to officially change my name to Carlos.”

“Well then,” Bia smiles to him. “We’re all happy that you’re now Carlos.”

They began clapping, cheering him on and Samuel then speaks next. “And for me, instead of Samuel, I’d like to be just Sam or Sammy. Whichever you prefer.”

“Of course, Sam.”

The pair of friends smiled wide, grateful the change and continued with their normal talks with their friends.

Back in the shower room, Lina and Jess step on out, wrapping their towels around their bodies and still heard one running. Lina wandered over to the noise, finding out that it was Ky who was still enjoying her time in the steamed water. She gently taps on the tile wall next to the cloth curtain. “Hey, Ky? You alright in there?”

Ky didn’t respond, she just kept her head tilted up under the showerhead, seemingly trying to block out everything as her eyes were shut closed.

Lina sighed when there was no spoken word, turning to Jess and Jess shrugged. “Maybe she’s just basking in the moment . . . I’ll fetch the jackwagons so they can come in a shower, too.”

Jess goes off, traveling to the far other side of the room, popping her head out to tell James and Owe that stalls were open for them to come in. She then shut the door, making her way back and told Lina that she was going heading out to get changed. Lina nods, watching her go.

James strolls on in, grey towel thrown over his shoulder, wearing a smug look as he spotted Lina. “Hey stranger,” he teased. “I thought Jessy said that no other girls were in here? That it’d just be Owey and I.”

“Ky’s takin’ her time in the shower, so I was just plannin’ on waitin’ for her.” Lina replies, leaning up against the stall. “Though, she may be a while so I just may go and quickly get dressed.”

He laughs, “You go and do that. I’ll keep an eye out on her.”

“Thanks, James.” Lina blushes, heading on out of the room to get on clothes.

He takes in a deep breath, preparing his stall and shower, inspecting the hair products and bar of soap that he was given. From behind, the door opens and without turning, he knows that its Owe; he was used to his presence. Has been for eleven months.

“Hey, Prince Caspian.” He lifts his head up and over, seeing the brunette drawing close. “Finally give ya a towel?” He motions towards it.

“Uh, yeah. Finally.” Owe nods. “They mentioned something about having lots of people using them so they were just waiting until a few were dried.”

James thinks about it for a moment. “Well, there are many people that work in this building, they have to take showers too.”

“Fair enough.”

The one shower turns off while James reaches in, starting up his and Owe was confused for a moment. His eyes darting back and forth between James’s shower and the one that was two stalls away. James sees his face, his confusion and it has him crack a smile.

“There was a straggler.” He whispers to the shorter boy.

The curtain opens with a _whoosh_ , a light skinned pale leg peaks out, stepping onto the ground. An arm is next, revealing itself as it prep itself on the side to act like an anchor for the body to properly step on out without slipping. Finally, at last, the towel wrapped torso and head comes and Ky glances over, seeing James and Owe just staring at her.

She mustered up a smile, gently saying, “Hi.”

“Enjoy your shower, K?” James asks, taking his towel off his shoulder and hangs it on the side of the wall. She nods. “Hope you left some hot water for us. Ain’t that right, Owey?”

Owe’s face just got beat red as he repeatedly cleared his throat, glancing down at his shoes that he still needed to take off. Ky just stared at him, hoisting up the front of her towel and adjusting the tucked in ends under her arms.

“Owey?” James nudges him. “Don’t space out on me, mate.”

“Y-yeah, no. No, no.” He nervously begins, looking up to Ky, finally making eye contact with her.

“You okay, Owe?” Ky studied his face. “You kinda look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Owe shakes his head. “No, no. It’s uh . . . It’s uh—” He pauses with a gulp, trying to find words to properly speak but it was becoming a hard task for him while Ky just kept watch. He then gives up, putting on a smile and just nods.

“Oh . . Kay.” Ky nods slowly. “Well, I’ll leave you two to get your showers and I’ll be heading out to get changed.”

“See you, Ky!” James flashes a smile as she left out of the door and he chuckled, grinning at Owe. “You poor sap. I feel for you, truthfully.”

“Oh, shut it.” He groans, rolling his eyes and went to the stall, getting undressed and stepped into the shower.

Once every was cleaned, dressed, and had their names taken, they were escorted to the Medical Wing to be checked up on and bandaged if needed to be. Anne, Bia, Des, Micky, and Jess were on treadmills that were testing their endurance and stamina. Amirah, Sammy, Carlos, Charlie, Mads, and Dean were doing some type of exercises to test her flexibility for some reason. Sarah, Jo, Hayley, Chloe, and Bridge was having their strength tested with lifting up cowbells to see if their bodies were in good shape. Owe, Cass, Lina, and Sasha were getting their blood taken. Sapph just sat off to the side with James, him overlooking all of the Islers as if he was their security guard; making sure everyone was safe and taken care of.

Then there was Ky and Quinn, both with nurses. Quinn had a male and Ky had the female. On her name tag, she read Dr. Crawford and made mental note of the doctor’s body language. Strong, independent, someone of authority; head in charge for medicine. She was inspecting Ky’s stitches, seeing how they were becoming infected and grabbed nearby utensils to fix it up.

Over on the left a dark skinned man walks in, having a gun attached to his waist Ky found it odd but then remembered about the beings that tried to attack them on the way in. _Must have it for protection_ , she thought.  

He asks, “How are the new arrivals doing?”

“They’re holding up nicely!” One responds back.

“Good.” He stands straight. “I need to see Quinn, Owe, Lina, Des, Anne, and James. Please.”

The six Islers stood up from where they were, lining up in a orderly fashion and led out of the Medical Wing, traveling to somewhere else.

Sapph got herself up, trekking over next to Ky and sat down next to her. She was wearing a different hoodie now, one that was completely black but trimmed in white with a dark green shirt on underneath and tan cargo pants. Her medium length hair back into a ponytail, displaying her face and young chubby cheeks. Ky felt herself feeling like a big sister to the little Misfit.

The girl begins fiddling with something in her hands that was around her neck and Ky witnessed it before, in the helicopter on their way to the facility. She lightly taps her. “Hey. What you have there?”

Sapph’s big doe eyes gaze up to hers before speaking. “It’s a pendant.” She then pulls it up and out of her shirt, displaying the shiny silver oval. “I had it ever since I awoke in the Cube.”

“It’s pretty.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Sapph smiles, holding it in her tiny palm. “I dunno why WCKD let me keep it, but I’m thankful that they did. It gives me comfort whenever I try to sleep at night.”

Ky nods, cooing, “I’m glad it does.”

A man sits down a tray that had a syringe on it, filled with blue liquid and upon seeing it, Ky tensed up, wondering what it was. Dr. Crawford reaches for it, taking the cap off from the needle, squeezing the plunger to make sure there was no air bubbles in it.

“Wait, what is that?”

Dr. Crawford smiles gently. “It’s things that you were deprived of in that maze of yours. There’s calcium, folate, vitamins A through Z. Plus, it’ll help with your stitches; help it heal faster.”

Not wanting to fuss and with trust, Ky held out her right arm for her. She takes it carefully, quickly grabbing some type of aluminum bottle and sprayed the crease area. Delicately, she presses the needle into Ky’s vein which makes her flinch a bit, remembering how the exit door felt with all those jabs; leaving her in pain.

Sapph sees her tensing and slips her hand into Ky’s, intertwining their fingers, telling her to breathe. Ky does so, calming herself down and relaxing her body as she felt the warm substance coursing in her veins. Then it’s over. The needle is withdrawn and a band-aid is placed over the tiny prick.

“There you are, good as new.” She announces then stands up, grabbing her clipboard and writes a few things down. “Everyone! Please, follow me and I’ll take you to the cafeteria.”

“Yes!” Micky chants repeatedly. “I need more food! And some fre shavoc ado!”

“Honestly, Mick, I love you.” Dean laughed. “You’re a weird cookie, but I totally like you.”

“Thank you, Deany Baby.”

Carlos laughs, looping his arm around Dean’s shoulder. “Easy there, Mick. This one is mine.”

“We can share.”

Dean looks to her. “I’m completely gay, Mick.”

“Not anymore.” She teased and placing her arm around him as well.

The eighteen remaining Islers followed Dr. Crawford on out into the hallways, her telling them a few rules of the night and how that the boys should be separated from the boys when it comes to bunks. Dean and Carlos took glances to one another, giggling in secret and shared kisses on the cheeks.

She stops at the one door, swiping her key-card and when it opens they’re met by loud clamors from inside. Baffled, Mads enters first, glancing out and eyed her fellow friends. “Guys, we’re not alone.”

Instantly they all piled in, seeing many more teenagers just like them sitting down at tables, eating, talking, laughing, having fun. Bia gasped. “We weren’t the only Labyrinth.”

“No, you weren’t.” Dr. Crawford begins. “We saved them, brought them here.”

“They really are the good guys.” Sammy smiles, seeing the small dinner line for food and she took Charlie by the hand, going on over to get trays. Dean and Carlos followed in pursuit with Micky and Cass; all of them holding hands with their significant other.

Ky looked to the lady. “What about the others? Where are they?”

“They’ll be coming back shortly, I assure you.”

She eyes her, kinda doubting it but Bia places a hand on Ky’s shoulder, capturing her attention and thanks the doctor before leading her away to get in line.

They found an empty table, sitting down at it and began eating, actually taking their time since there was no rush. Ky chewed on her cornbread, hearing Dean talk about what the first thing he would do when he got home. He spoke of wanting to introduce his family to Carlos, saying that he stole his heart after just three months of knowing one another and that he wants them to go traveling.

Mads was next, saying how she wanted to find a boy or a girl who shared a passion for art and music just like her and for them to be the couple that paints each other and sing whenever they’re bored and even make duets.

Sammy wanted her and Charlie to have a life like Dean and Carlos except they want to work at an animal shelter, taking care of dogs and cats, giving them love and providing good, stable homes for them. Jess cheered them on for their plans, saying that all animals deserve to be loved and taken care of.

Micky nods. “I fully agree.” She then picks up some of her cornbread, placing it into her bag that Ky had just noticed, automatically knowing that she was feeding Barton.

“Hey, guys.” Ky lifts her head, glancing over to greet Quinn with a smile but ended up pausing; seeing that their blonde hair was gone. It was now a dark brown, almost black. The others gawk, dumbfounded. “Yeah, yeah. They thought it’d be best to change our looks.”

Quinn sits down next to Ky and she arches her brow. “‘Our’?” Anne in heads in after, her brown as well but lighter, softer than what Quinn’s was. “Oh . . my . .”

Anne rolls her eyes. “They thought the dark hair would suit us and our complexion. Plus, it’s a new start of our lives.” She plops next to Sapph, huffing and stole Jess’s apple.

“I agree.” Lina was the next, her hair the same shade of brown, losing the golden locks that reminded them all of sunshine. “I mean, the dark compliments my eyes more.” She sits across the table, in front of Ky. “I like it.”

“I don’t.” Quinn grumbles. James then headed over with a tray but he looked normal; no dyed hair. He sits next to Lina and Quinn lifts their head. “Woah, how come you don’t have your hair changed like ours?”

He shrugs. “I was just in a conversation with that rat face guy.”

“I thought we agreed on callin’ him Rat Man?” Carlos questions.

“We did.” Anne agrees.

“What kind of conversation, Mr. Perfect?” Quinn inquires.

James’s blue eyes settles on theirs then move to everyone else's, knowing that they wanted the details. He takes in a deep breath. “Apparently, WCKD had files on some of us and they found them. So they just wanted to speak to those who had files.”

“For like, who worked with WCKD? Or what?” Ky’s heart sank into her stomach.

“Both, I guess. My file said that I was sent in because they needed more subjects to experiment on.” James stated, shrugging it off like it was no big deal and took a bite of his apple.

Bia leans in on the table with her elbows. “Did they tell you who else’s files they had?”

“They told me to send in Owe once I was done so I’m guessi—”

“Owe?” Ky furrowed her brows, looking to James for a good minute.

"Someone say my name?” Owe speaks from behind and Ky scoffs with a laugh, trying to persuade herself that what she remembered from the Preserve was true. And to divert the conversation of him working with WCKD.

“Apparently,” she begins, spinning herself to face him, “the people here thought that the girls needed a new look for a newer lif—" She stopped with her sentence, seeing that Owe’s hair was now cut short. “Oh, for the _love_ of a Harbinger.” She grapes, facing forwards and places her face in her hands.

Micky checks Owe out, smirking. “See? I knew you’d be cuter without that long hair.”

“I actually agree,” Cass nods. “Owe, you’re officially a 7 on the hot scale.”

“Yeah, thanks.” He nods, sitting down next to Ky who still had her head in her hands. “So, I was spoken too.”

“We’ve been knew.” Micky nods to him. “Why’d you get sent into the Labyrinth?”

“No, clue. They didn’t say anything like that. They just wanted to tell me that today, for me, is a gift.”

“Why a gift?”

“It’s my seventeenth birthday today.” Owe smiles to the Islers.

“Congratulations, bud!” Dean smiles, clapping. “That’s good news!”

He does a shy laugh. “Thanks, Dean.”

“Okay, but back to the whole hair thing,” James shakes his head. “Why are they touching up your hair and making it different colors? I mean, isn't our bloody health more important?”

Quinn eyes him. “Maybe someone just thought it was important to change our hair color for character development.”

From a few tables over, there was a boy speaking loudly with group of boys, and the Islers were able to overhear. They listened in.

“And there was this big, loud explosion, and these guys came out of nowhere. Started shooting up the place.”

“It was intense.” His friend adds in.

“They pulled us out of the maze and brought us here.”

“What about the rest?” A British fellow responds with sandy blond hair. “The other people left behind in the maze, what happened to them?”

“I don't know. I guess WCKD still has them.”

The British fellow speaks again. “How long you guys been here?”

“Not long. Just a day or two.” He then shifts, motioning over at a lonesome boy in a hoodie. “That kid over there has been here the longest. Almost a week.”

The friend gets a smug look. “His maze was nothing but girls.”

An Asian boy looks to him to an instant, intrigued. “Really?”

The other boy shrugs. “Some guys have all the luck. Just like those ones.” He then jabs a thumb over to the Islers and the gang of boys all look over.

The Islers quickly averted the stares, pretending to engage in conversation and making hand gestures and other things to try and seem normal. But it quickly shut down as the Rat Man came in the room with two men following him, speaking loudly as he held his clipboard.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Ladies.” The cafeteria fell silent, everyone watching him. “You all know how this works. If you hear your name called . . . please rise in an orderly fashion, join my colleagues behind me where they will escort you to the Eastern Wing. Your new lives are about to begin.”

A few of the teens begin clapping but the majority of them just stayed quiet. The Islers all perked up, wondering what was going on. The Rat Man flips through a few papers, getting to the page that he needed and darted up at the crowds before listing off the names.

“Connor. Evelyn. Ev!” A girl stands, her friends excited for her as she joined the men behind Rat Man. He continued. “Justin. Peter. Allison. Squiggy.” The crowd chuckles. “All right. Settle down.” And they do. He goes on. “Franklin. And Abigail.”

He closes the clipboard and everyone “awes”, disappointed in the fact that their names weren’t called.

“Now, now, don't get discouraged. If I could take more, I would. There’s always tomorrow. Your time will come. Go on, eat up.”

The crowds clap again, congratulating the ones that were leaving the cafeteria.

Asian kid speaks up again, and the Islers heard him ask, “Where they going?”

“Far from here. Lucky bastards.”

“Some kind of farm.” The friend glances to them. “A safe place. They can only take in a couple of people at a time.”

Ky frowned, mentally thinking and catch sight of someone walking by the windows that showed the hallway. It was Des and she was being escorted somewhere along with another girl who had long dark hair; the both of them wearing white shirts but dark blue pants.

“Is that Des?” Ky pipes up, standing to try and get a better look.

From the other side of the room, the one boy who was with the other group, began tracking them down. _Maybe he knows her, just like how I know Des. Maybe they were in a group with one another._

“Hey, Teresa?” He rings out, running up towards the door where the nine kids had just walked out of. “Teresa!” Ky follows after.

The man at the door stops him. “Hey, hey, hey.”

“Where are they taking her?”

He looks at the boy. “They just have to run a few more tests. Don't worry, they'll be done with her soon.”

Ky then wandered up right besides him. “More tests? My friend is with his.” She then side glances at him, noticing the spots on his cheeks and got a quick memory flash of seeing them before. She looks away. “Are they okay?”

“They’re fine.”

 

It was night time and the Islers were placed into their own dorm. They were locked in for the night, no escaping, and according to them, there was no reason for it. The room had it’s sinks for water, washing hands, and a bathroom for the late night runs. The walls were covered in bunks and there was a few single beds near the back.

Ky was worried for Des and even for the girl that she was with, not knowing what was going on but Bia told her not to worry. _If only I could_ _,_ Ky mentally replied.

Anne, Quinn, Jess, Bia, Sapph, James, Charlie, Sammy, Dean, Carlos, Des, Hayley; they all had bunk beds while the others like Sasha, Bridge, Jo, Chloe, Lina, and Amirah had just standard beds. Well, all but Ky. There was too many Islers and only a limited amount of beds. She didn't mind though, she rather have her fellow friends comfy in a facility such as the one they were in.

Ky just stood up against the door, watching everyone in their bunks and cots sleeping. Some talking in their sleep while others snored or did incoherent mumbles like Dean. She had chuckled from the sounds colliding together as one.

Her eyes began getting heavy, her body slanting off to the side and about to fall but she jerks awake, tightening her muscles to make her stand. “Goodness.” She whispers, slipping herself down onto the floor and rested back on the ground. She keeps her eyes on the high ceiling, grabbing a piece of her hair that escaped her ponytail and twirled it around her finger in thought.

“Hey,” a hushed voice is heard. “Ky?” She lifts up her head and body, following it; going back by the wash sinks and seeing Owe on his one cot, still awake. “You haven’t slept yet?” She shakes her head. “Here, I’ll let you sleep and I’ll get up.”

“No, Owe. It’s fine, I promise.”

“You need sleep too.” He looks up at her, hand grazing the side of his newest haircut, still not used to it. “Come on.”

“I won’t take your cot away from you.”

“Then don’t,” he moves over, patting the spot next to him. “We share.” Ky thinks for a moment, running her fingers back through her scalp, nodding and gets down in besides him, under the sheets.

Owe stays on his back, staring up at the ceiling like how she did on the floor, staying quiet and she did too. The silence got too much for her and she needed to break it.

“I usually don’t sleep at night.” Silence. “That’s why I always snuck out into the Labyrinth.”

“Why can’t you sleep?”

“I dunno . . . Maybe, I do?” She thinks. “In the helicopter, I . . I don’t if it was a dream or something, but, I remember this song playing. And it had a beautiful melody and in the dream, it was something like a lullaby for me to sleep, though the lyrics seemed dark.”

Owe turned his head, looking at her as she kept staring up. “What was the song?”

Ky thinks for a moment, humming the tune that she heard and once she began, she could literally feel her eyes getting heavier by the second. They finally fluttered close and Owe just watched in pure admiration, seeing how this song was calming her down. That’s when she began speaking the words;

 

_Bones sinking like stones_

_All that we've fought for_

_Homes, places we've grown_

_All of us are done for_

 

Ky stopped with the lyrics, still humming but automatically, Owe then joined in with the chorus.

 

_We live in a beautiful world_

_Yeah we do_

_Yeah we do_

_We live in a beautiful world_

 

Ky opened her eyes, staring to Owe almost breathlessly. “You know the song?”

“I don’t even . . . I didn’t know that I did.”

“Like muscle memory.” Ky cracked a small smile, blushing but then lost it, thinking back to what the one boy said in the cafeteria. “You think we’re going to be together?”

“Hmm?”

“Us.” Ky began gently. “These people, they take out kids every day to the safe haven place. What if we all get taken at different times?” A pause. “What if we don’t stay together and get split up?”

Owe shakes his head. “No. We’d never let anything like that happen to us. We’re a family and we’re going to stay that way forever. No one is ever changing that.”

“You promise?” Ky then raises her hand, holding out her pinkie. “Promise that no matter what, we stay together and we’ll never leave?”

Gradually, he takes her pinkie into his, creating a bond. “I promise.”


	8. PART 2, CHAPTER 2: Heart of the Jungle

Micky was the first one up and out of her bottom bunk, heading to a sink to splash her face with cold water, brushing her teeth, rinsing mouth, and went straight for the bathroom. She then got out, washed her hands, and began waking up the other Islers on the fabulous morning of their new lives within a nonthreatening facility.

The guards had came and unlocked the doors, telling them that breakfast waited for them. Lina searched around, rubbing her weary blue eyes. “Where’s Ky? She still asleep?”

“She’s room- _mating_ with Owe.” Micky snickers. “He’s her muckin’ cinnamon apple.”

Quinn immediately glances to Anne, both having grins upon their lips. “No way.” The two Islers scurried off, hurrying to the bed where they’ve seen Owe head to last night. Jess followed after.

Sure enough, just like what Micky said, there was Ky in Owe’s cot. She was sleeping on her right side, facing the group with her right arm tucked into her chest and the left resting on her stomach. But with closer exception from Jess, she noticed how her body was relaxed not stiff like how she used to sleep in the Isle.

Behind her there was Owe, who was facing the same way and cuddled up to her back. His head was resting right behind hers, arm was placed under the pillow and Ky’s head which propped herself upwards. His other hand just rested on his own leg. There was nothing romantic, nothing more; it was just a mutual respect of kindness and care.

Jess cooes, “Wow. In the past years I’ve known Ky, I’ve never seen her look so peaceful while sleeping.”

“She doesn’t have to worry about the Harbingers and us being safe anymore.” Quinn states. “She deserves to rest. And well, I’m guessing we can’t wake Owe either because she’s laying on his arm.”

James wanders over, spotting the two sleeping bodies with a small smile. “Let the poor jackwagons sleep. They deserve it. We can go and get something to eat. No need to bother their perfect slumber.” The gang agrees, all of them leaving the dorm and made sure that the door closed behind them.

At breakfast, the Islers went to their table and began eating while Lina was eyeing the whole cafeteria and spotted the lone boy that she and the others heard of yesterday. The hood boy with a maze filled with girls. He hardly ate anything, keeping still and let his eyes take in the sight of all the faces that roaming around and sitting, talking. She mumbled to herself, trying to decipher a few things about him.

Dean notices. “Lina, you checking out Hoodie?”

Lina looks to him. “Yeah. I'm just trying to figure him out. You know, trying to get a _sense_ of what he's like.”

He then looks him over. “He is cute. Wonder if all his friends got taken to the safe haven and he's the last one?”

“That's what I'm thinking.” Lina remarks, “I was eyeing him last night at dinner. When they were calling names, he kept his head low as if he was nervous that Janson was going to get his called.”

Quinn shrugs. “What's so weird about that? Maybe he just doesn't want to start a new life.”

Lina turns to them. “It's weird because _who_ wouldn't want that?”

James nods. “It is strange.” He pauses. “Maybe there’s just . . something more that’s bothering him?”

Gracefully, Lina grabs her tray and stands with determination, wandering off to the table over by the corner. She sits in front of him which gives him a startle, raising his head up in a sudden move. She gives off a smile and he does as well, keeping silent for a moment after.

“Hi, I’m Lina. What’s your name?”

“Aris.”

She nods. “So, I heard that you’ve been here for a week. Tell me, what’s the deal with this place? I seen how you act whenever Janson calls out the fellow persons.”

Aris locks eyes, seeing if he could actually trust her before finally scooting in closer to reveal what he knows. “There is something going on here, it’s something wrong. I told the other boy, Thomas, about it.”

“Who’s Thomas?”

“The one that was with your friend was with last night.” Lina turns, spotting the brown haired boy that Ky had stood next to when he seen Des walking with another girl in the hall. “What? You guys aren’t with him?” Aris asks.

“No. We aren’t.” She focuses back on him. “Enlighten me, what’s really happening here?”

He sighs. “The people that are ‘taken’ to the safe haven, I don’t believe that they actually go anywhere. They stay here, behind that door.” Aris points over at the door where two men stood, guarding it. “They go through that door, and in the vents, you can see that Doctor Crawford taking sheet covered gurneys into a Restricted Area that requires a keycard. After that, there’s nothing. No one comes back out except for Crawford.”

Lina remains still, letting the information fully develop into her brain before speaking in a small whisper. “Can you show me?”

Aris nods. “Tonight.”

Ky was the first up, heading to the bathroom for use, washing hands, brushing teeth with the sterilize toothbrushes, and got changed into a new pair of clothes that he randomly just placed on. A baseball tee with a split neck and grey sleeves.

She took her black scrunchie off from her wrist, gathering up all of her hair at the back of her head and brought it downwards, looping it around to form a pony tail of long, flowing brown hair. Ky then wiped down a few pieces that didn’t reach back in order to frame her face.

Owe still napped and she let him, heading out of the dorm, going straight towards the cafeteria.

On the way, she bumped into the Rat Man, apologizing for the run in and went to travel out and around but he stopped her with a discreet gentleness. He questioned if he was able to speak with her for a moment and she wondered why, remembering how James said the day before that he had spoken with him since they found his WCKD file. They must’ve found hers. She nods, following after.

Ky was placed in a huge room with a big mirror on the one wall, a metal table and two chairs on either end; facing one another. A security camera was in the far left corner of the room, that she noticed. It had smelled sterile, clean, kinda like bleach and lemon pine. The dim lighting of the room gave it an atmosphere of being almost secretive and that placed Ky on alert for a reason that wasn’t clear; a reason that she couldn’t recall.

She sits and so does the man, holding his clipboard and a folder filled with something that she imagined was important papers and records. He wears a turtleneck sweater that was light grey, making his blue eyes appear dull and even lifeless. His stare was calculating which made Ky sit up straighter, locking eyes to try and show that she wasn’t nervous.

Rat Man takes out the folder, resting it on the table in front of himself, opening it to reveal a white booklet that had a scan of a hand print on the front with a WCKD logo on the right top corner. He flips the page and on the inside, there was a picture of Ky pinned along with a few sentences that were blacked out, withholding information. She leans in on the table, trying to sneak a look as he began speaking.

“Miss Ky Agnes,” his thick Irish accent slurs, “when we had rescued you from your maze trials, we managed to found a few files of your group and among those, we had a file of yours. And I must say, yours was certainly entertaining. You arrived to WCKD at a young age, worked with them for many years, a valuable worker, even considered a leader of the company . . And yet,” he glances up from the file, “you were placed into the maze.”

Ky shrugs. “I don’t . . I don’t know anything. I don’t remember.”

“And why is that, do you think?”

“Seems like a question that you should’ve asked them.” Ky remarks, not trying to be mean but truthful. “WCKD took away our memories, having us wake up in a Cube and in a new mysterious place with no knowledge of anything other than our names. If you ask me, that’s not fair.” She deeply exhales. “We were just kids. We still are. And having gone through what we did, I’m surprised that none of us are broken beyond measure. But maybe we are. Maybe others are just better at hiding it.”

The corner of Janson’s mouth turns upright as he flipped through the rest of her file, scanning a few lines. “So you remember nothing about WCKD?”

She stays quiet for a moment. “I remember a few things, but they’re like I’m behind warped glass and it makes the picture blurred and yet, I know exactly what I was seeing.”

“And what were you seeing, Ms. Agnes?” Janson leans his elbows in on the table, clasping his hands together in a very conservative manner.

“Kids. Some like me, working with WCKD. Some who weren’t like me, being withheld back behind doors with red tabs. A girl who kept on telling me that WCKD was good. I don’t know much of anything else.”

Janson picks up a pen, making a small note of what she said. Ky hardly notices from her eyes lingering on the file, seeing the picture of her as a younger child. Somewhere around the age of twelve or thirteen.

“This girl, you happen to remember any details about her?”

Ky shakes her head. “No, why? Is it important?”

He licks the top of his pointer finger, flipping to a new page. “Says here that you joined WCKD with a sibling.”

“Sibling?” Ky muttered, feeling like a piece of her old life had been found.

He nods. “There’s no name, unfortunately. I apologize. However, there is a code. A1.” Janson flicks his eyes up at her. “Does that mean anything to you?”

“No.”

“Interesting.” He inhales, scooting out of his chair, standing and heading for the door. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Agnes. You’ve told me everything I need to know. You and your friends will be moving on to greener pastures here soon. In the meantime, enjoy your stay.”

“Umm, Director, sir?” Ky stands, he stills, eyeing her. “I uh, I don’t think I ever quite caught your name. And I feel weird just calling you sir.”

“It’s Janson. Director Janson.”

Instantly the smile what was on Ky’s face faltered and then faded, the name bringing back a certain piece of memory that she had from the Preserve. The man that was standing behind her in WCKD, the one that gentle, placing his hand upon her shoulder. The man that told her that they—WCKD—expect results without emotions. That was him.

Janson notices her change in character, pressing on a smile. “Ms. Agnes, I believe your friends are waiting for you at breakfast.”

“Yeah, I, uh . . I think so, too.” Ky quickly responded, giving a nod and plastered on a smile, going over and took one last look at him before exiting as fast as she could.

 

It was dinner time and Ky had told the group of her theory that the man that they referred to as Rat Face and Rat Man was the same person who was in her memory, her Preserve. Straight away, Lina took her side, saying that, “something about this place is daft”. A few agreed whereas the others just wanted to enjoy their freedom and not needing to worry about certain factors. Ky couldn’t find herself being upset because she knew how it felt to have something good and to have someone try to destroy it.

Lina also told everyone about the boy named Aris and how people don’t actually leave this place which split up the group even more. Believers and the Non Believing.

Hayley was the first to begin. “Ky, Lina, maybe you guys are just overthinkin’ too much? We were rescued from WCKD. From that Labyrinth. All of us were.” She motions to the whole cafeteria. “Nothing bad has happened to us.”

“Not yet.” Lina adds in.

“Why you have to be like that?” Sarah scoffs. “Let’s just have a few days of happiness and not of despair. Goodness, it’s starting to feel like our emotions don’t even matter to you mucks.” That shut Ky down, making her grow quiet and telling Lina not to worry about it.

A few seconds later, Janson came in again with his clipboard, now wearing a black leather jacket with his turtleneck and began calling out the names of those who were being taken to the ‘safe haven’. Ky just nervously sat, watching as the teenagers in the room were getting excited, hoping their names would be called and that just made her heart sink deeper into the pit of her stomach.

“Alice. Barry. Walt. Edgar. Samantha. Aaron. Ennis. Sally. Henry. Tim.” Janson glances up, placing his clipboard down next to his side. “And last but not least, Ky.”

Lina whipped her attention to her friend that was sitting next to her and the others did the same, all locking eyes on her. Ky was frozen, non moving from being nervous but gradually, she began to get up.

Lina gently gripped her wrist. “Ky, please. Don’t go.”

“I don’t have a choice.”

“Hey,” Owe pipes up from next to James. “What about last night? We made that promise.”

“If Lina and that kid, Aris, is right. I won’t be going anywhere.” Ky muttered, peering over to see Janson, the kids, and guards waiting. “Besides, if I don’t go, they’ll know that something is up and I don’t want them to think that there’s a problem.”

Owe furrowed his brows. “Ky, if they’re WCKD—”

“Yeah . .” She softly whispered and Lina let her arm go, having her slip away to join the line. The whole group of Islers watched like hawks, ready to make any necessary runs for a rescue.

Janson kept an eye on her as well, smiling. “Thank you for your attention. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” He chimes, the one guard swiping his keycard and having Janson lead the way through the door.

From the corner of Lina’s eye, she seen the boy Thomas stand up, keeping his attention to the ground as he joined in behind Ky in line. Ky glances over her shoulder, seeing him and turned back as she went through the doorway. Thomas was about to but the guard catch sight, placing a hand on his chest. Lina perked up with Owe, both of them already alert about the situation.

“Hang on, you weren’t called.” The man states.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just going to be a second.” Thomas tries to walk again but is stopped.

“This is a restricted area, kid.”

Thomas sighs. “I just wanna see my friend. Can you let me through?”

The man raises his right hand, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Get your ass back in that chair.” He warns and Thomas slowly turns, taking a few steps. “Just remember, you are always being monitored. Breaking the rules—” Thomas goes back, charging as quick as he can to budge through but the man is quick, throwing him back. “Back off!”

The boy’s friends hurried up, running behind him as he began charging at the guards again. “What's your problem, man? What the hell, huh?” Thomas shouts.

“Back off!”

“Why won't you let me see her?”

“Control your friend!”

Janson runs in, seeing Thomas and the group, trying to calm down the tension. “What's happening here? Thomas?” He eyes him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I thought we could trust each other. You know we're all on the same team here.”

“Are we?” Thomas retorts.

“Get them to their bunks.” Janson remarks, leaving Thomas and headed back into the area where the kids and Ky had disappeared into.

The Islers watched as the other group were escorted out of the cafeteria, back to their room and Lina felt her head pounding and heart somehow making slower beats. Immediately, she headed straight over to Aris, placing her hands on the tabletop and glaring down at him. His full attention was on her and he knew that what had just happened was an act of violence on many accounts.

“You’re showing me a way into that section. _Now_.” She ordered without a second thought. Aris complied, getting himself up and other teens in the room where dismissing the whole fight that just happened, but not everyone. Those group of kids were asking was had happened, what was wrong, why the guards acted like they did and with the much press, they ended up dismissing everyone to go back to their rooms.

Lina gave Aris the location and room number of their dorm, having him chime in saying that it was close to where Thomas and his group’s room was. She smiled, walking off down the hall with the guards following after. With a right, left, and another right, the door was opened and they were placed in; locked in.

James scratches the back of his head. “Why the hell would they take Ky?”

“Maybe they think she’s the leader of us?” Mads frowned, sitting down on one of the bunks.

“Bia’s our leader.” Sarah adds in.

“Yeah, but they don’t know that.”

“Listen, I’m not your muck leader.” Bia huffs. “I’m just someone who looks out for yous. Nothing about that makes me a leader. Only concerned.”

“Look, does it matter what they took her for?” Owe musters up, slightly angry about the whole ordeal. “Okay, we need to get her back. She belongs with us. She’s our Ky.”

“And we’ll get our Ky back,” Lina nods. “I’ll just wait for Aris to show up and he’ll take me to the place that he showed Thomas and we’ll be ready to go, and to try and find a way out of here.”

Not long after, Aris did keep his word, slipping through the vents and pressed the grate off and slipping out from under the one bunk. He had quickly introduced himself to the Islers, telling Lina that they needed to hurry and still grab Thomas. She went after.

Bia then took the lead, organizing the Islers to barricade the door with the bunks and sheets just in case the organization that they were with was about to barge in and tear them away from one another.

Sapph just stood back, watching the group work and glanced down to the grate that Aris took off from the vent, hitting it with her shoe. “Metal bar thingymabobber hot air whooshy weeeee.”

James glanced back at her. “Sapph, stop being adorable and grab me a few pillows.”

She excitedly nodded. “On it, tiger!” Sapph quickly salutes, hurrying to the bunks.

With Lina and Aris, they traveled through the vents, overhearing Thomas and another boy having a dispute. Aris pressed the grate off of their vent, making someone shout in surprise. He popped his head up, asking if Thomas was ready. He replied with a “yeah”, getting down and telling his friends that he’d be right back.

Aris was leading the way while Lina was in the middle and Thomas was in the back, crawling their way through to the closed off section of the facility. Left, right, right, left, right, and another left. They kept on heading through, making it to a grate in the floor of the vent. The three paused, Thomas checking the hall to see if anyone was approaching before opening it, lowering himself down in. He then glanced up, helping Lina down and then Aris who closed the grate.

The three teens headed up to the door, Thomas revealing a keycard that Lina easily knew that he had grabbed when he charged at the one guard, swiping it to grant them access. The two doors pull away, a breeze blowing in on their faces as they entered the small blue light room which had another door for something marked as the Sterile Room.

Lina turns her head to a window, seeing a room of water pods filled with small tiny creatures that were rolled up into little balls. She didn’t know what half of them were but she did recognize a few as being little baby Harbingers.

Aris joins at her side, spotting another monster and points to it. “That’s a Shade.” He utters at the huge winged bat. “What I had in my Spring.”

“Grievers.” Thomas says from behind, pointing at the pod that was on the left, in the front. “We had Grievers.”

The boys and girl went to the other door, it being motion censored and opening to show them a walkway that had kids, just like them, strung up to machines that were producing readings of their brain activity and vitals.

“What the hell?” Thomas whispered, heading up to a few, inspecting them.

Aris went to the right and Lina followed, noticing how they were asleep; almost comatose while they had breathing tubes strapped in their mouths and around the head to keep it in place. They also were producing some type liquid into a small cylinder glass that was rigged next to the lifeless bodies from their wires and IVs.

“Teresa?” Thomas huskily calls out, making Lina and Aris glance over to see him trekking over to a girl’s body that had long dark brown hair. He stops in front of her, taking a moment to prepare for the worst as he lifts his arm, brushing back the hair that fell in front of her face.

Lina gasped. “It’s Ky.” She ran over, lifting her arms to cup her cheeks. “Ky? Ky, can you hear me?” Tears swelled up, pressing themselves to her ducts. “We need to get her down, now!”

Aris gave Ky’s body a quick look over. “She’s not set up like the others. No wires, breathing tube. Maybe they were going to but stopped to leave for a minute.”

“Yeah, okay.” Thomas nods, moving to the back and scanned around to see how to get Ky down from where he hanged and Aris helped as well.

Lina kept on trying to talk to her, make her to become aware. Nothing was working. “You think they drugged her?”

“Wouldn’t put it past them.” Thomas remarks, seeing a small panel next to Ky’s body and touched it, reading the screen for information. He finally found what he needed, pressing a few buttons and the cords that held up Ky’s body lowered her down into Lina’s arms.

The three of them moved fast, taking off the clips and tapping her cheeks to make her awake. Just then from behind, they heard someone approaching, drawing closer. Lina panicked, not knowing what to do and Thomas told her and Aris to hide while he’d take Ky’s body. There was no time to waste; Lina did as told.

They all hid behind the columns in the room that held up the bodies, ducking down and seeing Janson strolling in with another guard. “You sure this can’t wait? I was in the middle of putting up our newest subject.”   
“She was very specific, sir. She wanted to speak with you personally.” The other man responds, typing something into his electronic tablet.

“As if I don't have enough to deal with.”

“Just bear with me.” The guy and Janson stop at the end of the room, in front of a glass plane window. “I’m getting some interference from the storm.”

“Come on. It's good enough. Make the connection.” Janson says, being rash about it.

Lina peers over, seeing Thomas holding Ky’s pass out body to his chest before watching the man click on a button on his tablet. The glass plane now being turned into a video call and on the other end, it showed the woman in white that Lina remembered from the Labyrinth. Ava Paige, was her name. And she was certainly not dead.

“Good evening, Doctor Paige. Lovely to see you again.” Janson nods, seeing her sitting at a desk in another location where a skyline was in view from behind her. “Although I admit . . . I wasn't expecting to hear from you quite so soon.”

“Change of plans, Janson. I'll be arriving a little sooner than expected. First thing tomorrow.” Ava stands, fixing her white coat and walks around in front of the desk, being face to face with him.

“We'll be delighted to have you. I think you'll be pleased with the progress we've made.” Janson motions to the guard and he swipes up on his tablet, making brain and human scans appear on the call. “As you can see, early results have been extremely promising. Whatever it is you've been doing to them in there, it's working.”

Ava studies the graphs and scans, shaking her head in a slight disapproval. “Not well enough. I just received board approval. I want all the remaining subjects sedated and prepped for harvest by the time I arrive.”

Janson knits his brows. “Doctor Paige, we are going as fast as we can. We are still running tests—”

“Try something faster.” She cuts him off from speaking. “Until I can guarantee their security, this is the best plan.”

“Ma'am, security is my job. We're on twenty-four hour lock down here. I am assuring you . . . the assets are secure.”

Ava gives a sly grin. “Have you found the Right Arm?”

He shakes his head, pausing. “Not yet. We tracked them as far as the mountains.”

“So they're still out there. And they've already hit two of our installations. They want these kids as badly as we do. And I cannot . . . I cannot afford another loss. Not now, when I am so close to a cure. If you are not up to the task, I will find someone who is.” Ava goes back around to her chair, sitting down.

Janson looks to her. “That won't be necessary. Might I suggest we start with the most recent arrivals?”

“Just get it done.” She barks back and he goes to leave but she speaks again, “Janson. I don't want them to feel any pain.”

Understandingly, he replies with, “They won't feel a thing.” He then continues, heading out and the guard discontinued the call, following after.

The men left the room and Aris, Lina, and Thomas, along with Ky, they waited for a moment then were running back to the vent to warn their friends.

Micky was pacing in the dorm, eyeing the vent, just waiting for Lina’s arrival with Cass while a few others were theorizing about their own ideas and beliefs. Owe’s leg was shaking like crazy and Sapph, being the sweetheart that she was, she sat next to him, placing her tiny hand on his knee to stop him. His eyes found hers, giving a slight smile and a whisper of “thank you”.

“Welcome”, she had said back as James joined the other side of Owe, patting his back to try and help out as well. Sapph smiled at the two boys, grateful that they had a bond since Owe clearly needed one with someone other than females and a Quinn.

Speaking of, Anne was with Quinn, holding their cold hands tightly while Quinn kissed her temple, hoping it’d help calm Anne down and it did.

Hayley was still worried about Des, not knowing where she was and both Jess and Chloe were telling her that it was alright and that if something was going on that wasn’t good for everybody, that they wouldn’t leave without her. That gave her hope but still troubled her.

“Shush!” Micky suddenly jerks, pausing and listens in, heavy breathing and something being dragged was heard. She ducks down to the floor, spotting Lina army crawling with something splayed on her back. “Lina?!”

“Help!” She begs and Micky moves forwards with Cass, grabbing the Lina and the object that was on top of her. Cass pulled, seeing that it was a sleeping Ky who was just dead weight.

Owe sprung up. “Ky?”

“They drugged her.” Lina coughs, her muscles aching from the small space and having supported Ky’s body weight on her. “And this place, this is WCKD. The same people who put us in the Isle, in the Labyrinth! We’re not safe here.”

Jess went down next to Cass, checking out Ky’s pulse and forced her eyes open to check if they were dilated. “She’s stable so far that I can tell, but she’ll probably need to be carried by one of the guys. She’s sedated but responsive.”

“The hell were they doing to her?” Owe gets on his knees, cupping her cheeks and checked her head from side to side as if he were waiting for bruises to magically appear out of thin air and on her soft, peach skin.

Lina then explained, “Thomas, Aris, and I, we found Ky with other bodies. They weren’t dead but they weren't alive. They were like how Ky is now. They were strung up, and with tubes coming out of them as were being drained.” She catches her breath. “It’s like there’s something inside of us that WCKD wants. Something in our blood. So we need to leave. Like now.”

“Where we going to go?” Quinn stands, clenching their fists, ready for a fight.

“There’s a group in the mountains somewhere named Right Arm, apparently they attacked WCKD before so I’m guessin’ they’re the good guys in this.”

“Where’s this info coming from?” Dean questions.

Lina scoffed with a smirk. “The best part! That lady that supposedly shot herself in that video, Ava Paige, she’s alive and had a conversation with Janson that we listened in on. And she’s coming here tomorrow, and wants the recent arrivals to be experimented on. We’re those arrivals!”

James nods, clearing his throat. “Okay. We need to leave, now.” He gets down next to Owe, taking Ky from him gently and scooped her up effortlessly.

“Jam—” Owe begins but James talks over him.

“I’m stronger and faster, Owe. Trust me. I got her. I’m not going to let anyone hurt her anymore.”

“Come on, everyone. Let’s get a move on it.” Bia claps her hands together. “We need to go.”

“Wait. We need Des, too.” Hayley announces.

 

In the Medical Wing where Des had been, she was resting on her bed, glancing over to the brunette who was asleep. She eyed her for a moment, searching her brain for anything new while her neck and back ached. The girl slowly awakes, spotting Des and mustered a sleepy smile.

“Hi.” She says in a low voice.

“Hi.”

“You have any idea what they did to us?” The brunette yawns tiredly.

Des shrugs. “Not, really. No. Why? Your neck and back hurting, too?” The girl nods. “I’m Des. And what’s your name?”

“Nice to meet you, finally. Properly, actually.” Her blue eyes squinted from the lights. “My name is Teresa.” Silence then fills the air. “You feel weird? Like, something’s trying to crawl inside your head but it’s too cluttered?”

She nods. “Yeah, kinda. Actually, now that you mention it. I do feel kinda tingly.”

Alarms began blaring, signaling that something has gone within the facility which made Des stand on up, being ready to take any precautions or to defend herself. Teresa was too lightheaded so she went back to sleep, passing out rather quickly. Des snuck out from the bed curtain, seeing the nurses and doctors still continuing on with their routine.

Mentally, Des acted like everything was perfectly normal though she knew that something was wrong and asked to go to the restroom. With permission, she hurried up and out of the room, running down the wall and sneaking around corners.

 _This is like a secret mission,_ she thought.

A few guards cam running pass but she glued herself to the wall, pressing her back to it and they completely missed her. She sulked around the corner, running; left, right, left, and another right. At the end of the hall, she spotted Bia and the others.

“Des!” Hayley calls out, running up and giving her a big hug. “You’re alright!”

Des hugs her back, smiling. “What’s going on?”

“They’re WCKD.” Chloe checks her watch that she was given when they arrived. “And they’re trying to harm us yet again so we had to find you in order to for us to leave because we’d never leave without one another.”

“Des,” she glances over, seeing Ky passed out in James’s arms. “Please . . . We need to go and get to safety.”

“Yeah! Lina told us that there’s an organization called the Right Arm that could help us!” Sapph says with enthusiasm. “So we need to move our butts into hypergear!”

“It’s hypogear, Sapph.” Jess states.

“That’s what I said!”

Once again, the Islers were on the move, running to where they remembered the main door was. But it was harder than expected. With their group and the others trying to run around, to escape, WCKD was on a complete lock down.

Bia was up in front with Lina, Chloe, Des, Hayley, and Jess. In the middle was James with Ky, Owe with Sapph, Quinn and Anne, and Micky and Cass. In the far back, Mads, Samuel, Charlie, Sarah, Jo, Bridge, Dean, Carlos, and Amirah. All twenty-three of them were running like their life depended on it because in this crucial situation, it did.

Up ahead, Janson and a few guards spotted them which made them backtrack, running back the way that they just came and Jess was eyeing the ceiling, spotting the pipes. She then got a brilliant idea.

“The pipes, Bia! Follow the pipes! They should take us to a back door of this place!” 

“You think this place really has a back door?” Chloe shoots a look over at her. 

Jess nods. “Positive!”

The alarm still blared and the group ran to their heart’s content, Owe needing to stop of a moment since his chest ached and he stopped, trying to breathe. James twirled around, noticing Owe’s stop and frowned.

“Owey, you alright?!”

“Yeah! I just . . I need a minute.”

James frowned, knowing that he wasn’t doing good and looked to Quinn. Quinn automatically understood, readying their arms as he transferred Ky into their grasp. He ran on back for Owe, making him hop onto his back. He was refusing but a few guards found them, shooting electricity darts at them with their guns. The Islers took cover.

“Owe, now! I won’t argue with you!” Surrendering, Owe climbed up on James’s back and James snaked his hands under his kneecaps and took off in a sprint. “Lets go, guys, gals, and nonbinary pal!”

Bia traveled up to the guard, dodging the shots of the gun and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold and grabbed the gun, checking it out. For science, as she called, she shot the guard, watching as the dart sank into his chest and tendrils of electricity consumed him. She grinned, holding it close.

With the gun in hand, every threat that they encountered, Bia shot at the guards, hitting target every time which gave them easy passage while following the pipes.

At the end of the hall, sure enough like how Jess said, there was a small door that led to the outside. Relieved, Bia pressed on the door but then groaned once it wasn’t opening.

“No! No!”

“What’s wrong?” Des asks.

“The door isn’t opening!”

Chloe frowned. “Does it need a keycard?”

“No clue.”

Instantly, without a second warning, the door instantly unsealed, opening the the group which made them all worry. Jess eyed it for a moment, unsure of what to do until Des pressed herself out, running for the one sand mound but stopped to turn around to them.

“Guys, come on! We can leave and be free!”

Bia, readying the gun, she set herself on out, running as the night wind blew hard. The others followed after, running along behind Des to find somewhere to be safe and no longer in the clutches WCKD.


	9. PART 2, CHAPTER 3: The Encounter

The wind was fierce, blowing hard and picking up the small grains of sand and pelting the Islers as they kept on running. Their feet were sinking with every step, forcing them to work extra hard to move but they were used to it from the Isle. 

Micky still had on her pack which contained Barton, him popping his head out ever so often to see where they were being taken too. He perked up his ears to notice the sound of the facility in the background wailing, signaling that the group had escaped and needed to be found. 

The Islers rounded up near the front of the establishment, trekking up the dunes and going out into the storm that was brewing up with the harsh gusts of air. 

“Come on guys!” Bia encourages them as she led with Des, making it to the top and went down a small mound, running, then going down a steep slope. 

“Hey, Bia, look!” Chloe spots something big poking out of the sand in the near distance. It looked strange, eerie, and possibly dangerous but that didn’t stop Bia from making her way over and seeing a entry point. She peers inside, glancing around and crouches down, sitting on her butt and scoots down the incline. Jess follows. 

“What is it?” 

“It’s a mall!” Jess yelled up. “Must’ve been buried whenever the solar flares hit and changed the climate and weather.” 

“Is it safe?” Hayley calls down. 

Jess steps forwards, inspecting the area that was dim lit but was still able to make out shapes of beams, railings, and escalators. “Looks decent! Don’t see anything worrying.” 

“Come on down! We need to head out before WCKD finds us!” Bia orders, peering up at the broken glass plane where the Isler crowded around. 

Anne was the first down with Sapph then Des, Hayley, Chloe, Dean, Carlos, Samuel; and so on. Owe had gotten off from James’s back, taking his time down, stumbling but managed to keep himself up. James looked to Quinn, offering to take Ky from their arms and Quinn gave her over, heading down to join the others. 

He looked down at Ky’s sleeping face, noticing how her eyes were moving under her lids; trying to get herself awake or at least trying to make her body aware that she was coming to. James held her tightly, more secure and began his walk down the mound. His steps were steady, quick, but very facile. Feet hit the olden title of the mall, causing him to search around the area like the others before strolling after. 

The gang headed down the long building, passing by broken in shops and little stores. They strolled down the escalators, being cautious from the debris and the chipped steps in the machinery from being rusted and grainy from the sand. Dean, being a child captured in a teenager’s body, he sat on the railing and slid down; jumping off at the last second and stuck his landing. Carlos followed after and then Sapph, giggling. A few others joined in, needing some fun in the middle of the chaos and depressed setting they were walking through. 

On the lower level Jess caught sight of a certain store, pausing for a moment which made everyone else stop. “There’s a sports store.” She points at an old rundown section, the grimy sign saying Dick’s Sporting Goods. “We can find things to arm ourselves and get bags to store things we need.” 

Upon seeing the name, Micky smirks, nudging Owe. “You know what they have in there, right?” Done with her jokes, he looks to her unamused. She nudges him again, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Des, Jess, Hales, Jo, Sarah, Sam, Mads,” Bia lists off, “you seven want to head on in, try and gather a few things?” 

“On nit.” Hayley nods, taking the group in. 

James watches as they stroll in, going back to pay attention to Ky who began moving a bit more frequently. His blue eyes lock in. She mumbles, eyelids finally peeking open and staring up at him as a headache formed, pounding against her left temple.

“J-James?” 

“Hey there, love.” 

“It . . It was WCKD. They-they were WCKD.” Ky rambled off before he politely shushed her, calming her down. 

“It’s alright. We’re safe. Islers and us got on out and we’re now in a mall, taking shelter for the time being.” 

She quiet for a moment, biting her bottom lip before speaking. “Did . . Did everyone get out?” 

James lightly smiles, nodding. “Yeah. They’re okay. What about you, originator?” He focuses on her light hazel eyes, “How you feelin’?”

Ky dismisses the question, looking to her left to see the group roaming around the shop, then Bia, organizing the others into little search groups for the other places to find certain items. 

James asks if she's able to walk and if she wanted to be let down. Ky nods. He does so, keeping her steady, acting as her support beam and she whispers a “thank you”. He tells her that it wasn't a big deal and the two wander over. 

Lina immediately courses up to her, piling her with millions of questions. “What happened? You okay? You hurt? What did they give you? What exactly did they do when you were called back?” And many other things that Ky shortly answered. 

“They gave us all shots of what they called medicine, to make sure that we’d be alright for whenever we leave. The one boy got tired first, passing out, then the others began going. I was the last one, I was trying to get up, force myself to move but it wasn’t working. My body just stopped, causing me to tremble over. Then, it was all darken. Black.” 

Quickly, Lina gave her a hug, a tight one. Happily, Ky hugged her back, rubbing her back out of habit. “Thank goodness we got you when we did.” 

“How’d you even get me?” 

Bia’s loud voice echoes out, making Lina and Ky pull away from their hug, facing the leader. “Quinn, Carlos, Mick, James, Sapph, Sasha, Bridge, and Cass. You can all search for food and water. There’s an empty hallowed out store that seemed to have people sleeping there at one point—maybe they left some important things behind like canteens.” 

“What about us then?” Dean asks, motioning to himself, Anne, Owe, Lina, Amirah, Charlie, Chloe, and Ky. “What should we do?” 

“Maybe clothes?” Amirah offers as a suggestion. “It is a desert out there and deserts get cold at night so maybe we should find like jackets and long sleeves.” 

She nods in agreement. “Alright then, you guys go. Split.” Bia orders, joining the first group.

James gives a nod off to the two girls as they began following Chloe and Amirah to a shop a little while a ways, turning on his heel and going after Quinn and Sapph into the one little section and disappeared into the darkness. 

His small group came up on what had once probably been the mall’s main shopping area, seeing how it been transformed into a living space over the years. There were chairs and couches dragged out from the furniture stores that looked extremely used and wobbly. Sleeping bags littered the the floor with empty wrapping papers from candy and crumbled up newspapers while televisions and radios were strewn about.

“You don’t suppose any of these still work, do you?” Micky asked no one in particular, bending over to fiddle with the buttons on one of the smaller radios.

“Doubt it,” Cass said, glancing upwards at the ceiling. “The lights aren’t even on in this place. Besides, who would be broadcasting, WCKD?”

“Sure. ‘Hey, listeners! Some of our kids are playing hide and seek, whoever finds them gets free concert tickets’.”

James snorts, finding a torch and flicked on the switch, creating a beam of light within the dark. He tossed a few to the others and walked into a different area, shining his light around and landed on an old gate. Behind the gate there was more sleeping bags, and shifting to the left, he spotted a stuffed teddy bear. He frowned. There had been a child here. Where were they now?

“Anything interesting?” Quinn’s voice drew him out of his thoughts, and James shook his head.

“Nah. Just old blankets and stuff.”

Quinn searched around the area, noticing a canteen on the floor. “Oooh, jackpot.” They picked it up, and grinned as they realized it was still half-full. “How ‘bout that?”

“That’s not going to get us very far, you know. There’s a lot of us,” Carlos pointed out, but still looking for another canteen like it. He found one, but it was even less filled than Quinn’s was. He sighs in disappointment.

James shrugs. “Better some than none.”

“I guess.”

“Hey, James,” Sapph’s voice grabbed his attention, and he darted his eyes over to the young girl, who was rummaging through a pile. “Can we use this stuff?” 

He wandered over, crouching down next to her, and his face broke out in a ear-to-ear grin. “These are military rations. They’re not tasty, but they last a hell of a long time.” James patted Sapph on the back. “Bloody good find.”

She giggled, and he wondered if the blush on her cheeks was a trick of the light. He began shoving the rations into a pack Micky had stumbled upon, and Sapph joined him, putting some in her own. “You okay carryin’ a load by yourself?” James asked, and Sapph rolled her eyes.

“I think I can handle it,” she said matter of-factly, and when she had enough, she zipped up her backpack and walked off. James raised a brow, and Micky grins.

“Well, damn,” she says to James. “Seems her little crush on you is teetering.”

James rolled his eyes. “Puberty.”

“Ah, that bastard.” Micky pauses, “Oh, that reminds me. Us girls are gonna need our Lady Products just in case anything happens.”

James stifled a laugh, clearing his throat and noticed Quinn warily eyeing Sasha, who was looking for canteens with Bridge. “Think we can trust her?” He asked, and they shrugged.

“Dunno. Hope so.”

James wanted to trust Sasha just as much as Quinn did, but he couldn’t mask the protective edge he got whenever she was too close to Sapph. But Ky seemed okay with her, even after what she did in the Isle, which meant he had to be too.

“Guys,” Sasha pipes up which gave James a small freight since he was already thinking about her mentally. “Found two boxes of granola bars, unopened. There’s sixteen in each.” 

“We can use those for snacking.” Cass nods, grabbing at a tarp and lifted it up to reveal a huge water cooler. “Son of jackwagon! Guys, I found the water!” 

The group began cheering, half of them going over and began filling the canteens to the brim while the others still continued to search for more bottles. 

Over with Ky’s group Anne found a rack of men’s clothing, roaming through the types of shirts and held up options to Dean who kept shaking his head. She scoffs, rolling her eyes and continued on with the search for good looking shirts. Finally, she spots one and reveals it to him.

Dean studies it for a solid minute, taking it, and smiled. “It’s perfect. Thanks.” 

“Oh, no problem. Just took you about ten shirts to finally agree on one.” 

“At least he found one he actually likes,” Chloe frowned, strolling out in a new olive green long sleeved shirt. “This color doesn’t compliment my complexion but it’s the only thing I could find in my size.”

“I think you look quite lovely.” Amirah chimes from behind, picking out a jacket that was a shade of dark blue. “Besides, I think looks are the least of our worries now. We’re on the run.” Anne nods in agreement.”She’s got a point.” 

Ky overheard them all, watching from afar and slung a bunch of coats, jackets, pants, and shirts over her left arm for the others that weren’t searching with them. Miraculously, she remembered everyone’s sizes, it was her thing; her talent. She could recall little details. 

From her right there was a huff and she said glanced, seeing Owe staring at himself in an old dirty, smudged, and webcracked body mirror. He held this intense stare with his reflection, like as if he was trying to recognize the person he recently has become. His long hair was gone, it was now short. He no longer wore a smile but a grim, blank face. The brightness of his hazel eyes had faded and his youth dimmed by him having his recent birthday. 

_ Jake. _ The name breaks into her mind, making a dull ache stir and she flinches, shooting her right hand up to her temple. Her eyes squeeze, shutting tight, they always do; kinda like how a turtle retracts its head back into its shell when it’s scared. Ky does this when she’s in pain and is trying to focus on it because for a reason unknown, she believes that if she can strain herself, the pain will lessen and give up. 

It slowly vanishes and she slowly peels her eyes open, seeing that Owe was now looking at her while still staring into the mirror. “You alright?” He sincerely asks. 

She nods. “Yeah, just a dull ache.” A pause. “What about you?”

Owe huffs yet again, running his hand back through his hair. “I hate this haircut. I don’t look like myself at all.” 

Ky shrugs. “We’re not who we used to be . . . Maybe change is good.” 

“Maybe.” 

She furrowed her brow, combing through the articles of clothing she had on her arm and picked out a jean jacket, wiping it in the air to make sure there was no dust on it. Owe turns, focusing on her and watched how she held it out for him. Ky gives him a nod and he reaches out for it, grabbing it and put it on. 

“It suits you.” She smiled nicely. 

“Thanks, Ky.” 

“Welcome.” 

She strolled off, heading up to Lina who was putting on a pair of socks and boots and handed her a tan coat that’d match the cream colored blouse she had found and put on. She then went to Anne, giving her a dark grey bomber jacket and Chloe a black leather one. Ky continued on, passing the others out and left the shop, finding the other groups together.

They were sharing with each other what they found and how much supplies they had, and what was the next move to take. Ky lifted up her arms, showing them that she had clothes and sorted them out to every single person. Some took the outfits, leaving to change in private and others just simply stood where they were and changed in free spirit.    
James, he took the dark grey v-neck and army jacket that Ky had given him, taking off his shirt and majority of the girls watched, gawking at the sight of his abs. It was nothing they haven’t seen before but it had been so long that they needed to glue their eyes to him, mentally taking pictures. 

Des shook her head, annoyed, rubbing the back of her neck and let out a deep exhale. Hayley tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”

“Back of my head hurts, like, it’s stinging.”

“What did WCKD do to you?” 

She sighs, “Gave me tests. Asked me all that I remembered . . . Things like that. Then, next I know, I’m in a bed and laying next to some girl who gone through what I did.” 

Hayley snaked her one hand into Des’s, resting her head on her shoulder. “Well, we’re all alright and together. That’s what matters.” 

Just then, like a sudden wave of shock, the stringed lights within the stores turned on. Sapph eyed them in wonder, smiling. “Wow. Find someone finally find a light switch?” 

Everyone shook her heads, saying “no”. 

Jess glanced around, trying to think it through. “Maybe whoever stayed here had a generator and at a certain time, it kicks on and turns on the lights?”    
Micky glanced to her confused. “Is that a thing?” 

Jess nods. “Yeah.”

“Nifty.” 

Ky turned away from the group, finding herself a spot to change since she still had too. She put on a pair of light grey zipper skinny jeans, a maroon high neck sleeveless top, lace up boots, and a black zipper up hoodie with a green military jacket over it. 

She dusted herself off, coughing a bit, and noticed a sleeping bag having a pack settled on the top of it that was by her one foot. Curiously, Ky kneeled down to it, opening the big part of the bag and glanced in to see a handgun with a box of shells, two water bottles, a box of band aids and two can of peaches along with a note. She pulled it out, reading the message;

 

**If you find this, I’m long gone. The virus has won. And I was a coward. I hope your future will be brighter than what mine was. There’s a lot of things that have gone wrong. Please, take my pack for your journey. Lord knows you’ll need it.**

**Salvador.**

 

Ky’s heart seemed to pang, feeling a wide range of emotions while she slowly placed the note back into the pack. She then checked the gun, seeing that the safety was on and that it wasn’t even loaded. With seeing it in her hand, Ky felt something that she couldn’t quite make out. It was like . . . It was like an old memory but too foggy, too blurred to be remember properly. 

The ache began to dawn and she hurried, putting the revolver back into the back and closed it before picking it up and placing it onto her back. On the twirl of her heel, she stumbled, catching herself quick and froze as she seen a dead body on a chair in the corner. 

Slowly, Ky straightened out her back, inspecting the person closely and made note that they had their ankles tied up to the legs and their one wrist handcuffed to the arm rest. He wore some type of olden jacket that appeared to have oil splotches on it and right on by the left shoulder, there was a name tag. From where she stood, she could only see a S. A. and L. Ky didn’t have to see the rest, she already knew it was the man who left the note. 

She wandered up to the corpse, tenderly untying the knot around his feet and went searching for the handcuff key, finding it in his one shirt pocket and uncuffed him. Placing his arms tenderly in his lap and setting his body in a relaxed state, she whispered for him to rest peacefully. 

Ky took in a deep breath, turning around and witnessed Micky standing there. Her long dimmed blonde hair was now in an half up braid and she wore a cami under a frayed sweater and knee high combat boots. She wondered where the world she had gotten them but only because she needed her mind off of the body. 

“Who’s the dead guy?” She questions, not even phased by the body while Barton perked his head out of the bag, resting his chin on her shoulder and eyed the dead man. 

“Salvador.” 

“Kinda a scary name for a dead person. Wish we could ask whose decision it was to name him that.” 

That’s what set off Ky’s thought. 

“How aren’t you . . freaking out over the fact that there’s a dead person here?” 

Micky’s eyes dart up and down on her, then linger back to the man as her shoulder sluggishly move upwards in a shrug. “I guess it’s just one of those things where you see it, and you know that you can’t do anything about it now, so you just accept it.”

“Poor guy,” Ky frowned, fumbling with her fingers, strolling closer towards Micky while her eyes glued themselves on the corpse. “Tied himself up, starving himself to death. Why would someone ever do that to themselves?” 

_ BRAKK! _ The sound catches the two girls off guard and they hurry out, seeing the other Islers looking around to see where the noise came from. James readied his pack, tightening the straps and licking his bottom lip before biting it in thought. 

“We need to get a move on it. Now.” 

“Don’t be stupid.” Des shoots a look at him. “It’s probably nothing.” 

“Did that bloody sound like nothin’ to you?” His voice raises. “We need to go!” 

Other shouts signaled, and even yells from teenagers. It added to the multiple confusion that was going on and James was already making a break for it, taking the lead. 

“Let’s go, you mucks!” Finally, the Islers picked up their feet, following after as they all ran down the corridor, passing by a bunch of broken in stores. 

“Why are we running?!” Samuel hollers from the back of the group, flashing her light all around while they ran. “What is it?!”

“Could be those things that they were shooting at whenever we entered the facility?” Chloe states. “I recognized the same awful noise back there!” 

The Islers ran straight for escalators, scaling them upwards, trekking with hard steps and fast beating hearts. At the top, they were all freaking out, wondering which way to go. Bia wanted to go off to the left but James argued to go to the right, putting a dent in their time. The two kept on bickering and the others were violently scanning the area, making sure that nothing was chasing them. 

“We should go this way!” Bia stubbornly announces. 

“No, we need to go this way!” 

_ BRAKK! _ The clamor drew closer, getting louder. _ BRAKK!  _

“James, you listen to me. I’m the one in charge!” 

“Well, isn’t all that just going to your bloody thick daft head.” James spits out, him becoming anxious. Just trust me!” 

Up from above, Sapph spotted movement, seeing a dark figure hovering over the one ledge of the top floor and staring directly down on Bia. It snickered, climbing over the glass in a hurry, leaping off in an outstretched position. She quickly went on the move, pressing pass Owe, Quinn, and Anne. 

“Bia, watch out!” She screams. 

Bia’s head flew back, spotting the thing coming down and at the last second, Sapph shoved her out of the way, having her trip back onto her butt. The person landed on top of the eleven year old, mouth opening and closing repeatedly in a biting motion. Sapph let out a shrill, piercing everyone’s ears and James drew out his knife that Mads had found for him and stabbed it in the man’s head. With contact the person stopped moving and James raised his left foot, kicking off the man, having him tumble down the steps. While they watch, they noticed more like the man coming in a horde. 

“You just killed somebody!” Jo said in a gasp. “A human!” 

“That wasn’t human!” Sapph began hyperventilating as James helped her up, and into his arms. “It looked like that creature person that was in that video we watched when we left the Labyrinth!”

“The person that was infected with the Flare.” Jess recalled, her brain’s gears turning. “The non-Immune. The mall must be filled with them.” 

Right on cue, another one jumped down right in between the Islers, diverting them apart and fleeing off into different directions without second thoughts. There was the group that was being led by Bia; that had Des, Jess, Jo, Sarah, Samuel, Mads, Bridge, Amirah, Owe, and Quinn. Then there was James’s with Sapph, Anne, Charlie, Cass, Micky, Chloe, Dean, Carlos, Lina, Hayley, and Ky.

Bia’s group ran as fast as they could, rounding the corner and finding an Exit. She grinned, knowing that she’d be right. Going up and trying to open it, she realized that the door was jammed and blocked on the other side. Cursing, she darted back, seeing James his group looping the horde around in a giant circle before making a break for the escalators that now acted like stairs, going up the other flight. 

She frowned, shouting to the group for them to run quickly, shooting over to follow in the path of James and the others but the horde rerouted, seeing them and making their horrible clicking noises of  _ BRAKK! _ _  
_

Owe was in the back, feeling his chest clench and Quinn ran back for him, helping with throwing his arm around their shoulder and treading for the steps. 

“Owe, move your ass!” Quinn grumbled. 

“I . . I’m trying.” He coughed, mustering up his energy, pacing himself faster than before while taking deep breaths.

In the front, Bia pauses by the side, telling Des to take the group up while she waited for the other Islers to make it. She took the order, doing as told and went straight ahead. Bia focused on Owe and Quinn trying to get a move on it.

“Come on, you guys!” 

A non-Immune inched close to them, gaining speed and Bia readied her metal bat, running up and took a swing at its leg, sending the man face first into the tile. She grinned at her efforts, glancing up to see more getting close and swing after swing, she was taking them out. 

“Bia!” Owe called over his shoulder for her. “You need to get up here!” 

“Coming!” She remarked, taking another swing and shifted on her foot, running up the stairs and was too busy to notice the one on the side, attacking her onto the metal steps. Easily, she fought it off, getting back up and joined the Islers up in the one corridor where there was Exit doors. 

James was trying to break one in with the help of Chloe, Lina, and Dean. Ky was in the back with Sapph, Anne, Quinn, and Owe, watching them trying to get through while hearing the non-Immunes. 

“What’s the problem?” Bia made her way up, seeing James. 

“This is our best chance out but the door’s blocked.” 

“Then try another!”

“We did!” He bickered through his clenched teeth, slamming the whole right side into the door repeatedly. “This is the only one that’ll budge meaning that this one is our only way of escaping and not being attacked, Bia!”

_ BRAKK! BRAKKKK! _

Anne whipped her head around, seeing the huge crowd of non-Immunes, sneering and filing into the small corridor, running straight for them. “They’re coming!” She shrieked.    
Quickly, Ky moved away from Sapph and took off her pack, undoing the strap for the big pocket and pulled out the gun. She checked to see if it was filled with bullets and once she did, she settled herself up, taking three steps forwards. 

“Where the hell you’d get that?!” Quinn eyed the revolver, able to see their reflection in the silver. 

“Salvador.” Ky murmured, flicking off the safety and shut her left eye, aiming with her right and hovered her finger over the trigger before exhaling and pulling it back. The gun fired, a bullet lodging itself into the one person’s shoulder, sending them down like a sack of potatoes which made four others trip and fall over.

“Yes, Ky! Yes!” Quinn cheered her on as she took three more shots, trying to mimic the first one that she did so she wouldn’t have to use up all the ammo. 

Counting down and landing on three, James, Bia, Lina, Chloe, and Dean, all of them rammed themselves into the door, hearing a loud crash on the other side. The door swung open and they bolted out, James calling out for the others to follow through. And they did while Ky was holding off the horde, moving back to the best of her ability without taking eyes off the targets. 

James spotted Owe, seeing him with his hand on his chest, frowning. “Owey,” he reached his hand out to him. “Come on. I got you.” With nothing to oppose in this time sensitive manner, Owe took James’s hand in his; being helped out and James had him get onto his back yet again. 

Anne and Quinn were next, Anne holding onto Sapph’s hand. Sapph kept on glancing back at Ky, witnessing her shooting at the fast moving creatures, afraid that she wouldn’t make it like how they they currently were. 

Her heart ached. “We can’t leave Ky.” 

Anne shook her head. “She’s coming, too. There’s no need to worry, sweetie.” 

“She needs our help!” Sapph defended, frowning, taking another look back to see Ky trying to move back but tripped over her own bag, falling. “Ky!” She tore her arm away from Anne’s grasp, running back in. 

“Sapph!” Anne shouted but it was too late, Sapph was already back in the small corridor, placing her tiny arms under Ky’s and tried to hoist her upwards. 

Ky moved, struggling with getting her feet underneath her, telling Sapph to go out with Anne but she wasn’t listening. Sapph was fixated on getting Ky up and out. 

Ky turned over, getting on her knees instead, facing away from the creatures that had blue tinted skin with thick, black veins on their faces, and black liquid all through their teeth, leaking out of their mouths like drool. She put the safety back on for the gun, stuffing it back into her pack, slinging it over her shoulder, jumping to her feet, and tried grabbing for Sapph’s wrist since she was right behind her. 

Sapph shoved them out just in the nick of time, Anne slamming the door shut behind them while Quinn placed the heavy piece of furniture back in front of the door that blocked it in the first place, running down the old parking garage after the Islers. 

Running. That’s all they did. Running and running throughout the cold night away from the mall, from the facility, and from WCKD. They ran until they felt like their lungs were going to deflate, legs become jelly, and their souls turn to putty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for @MissMaier for helping me write this one section!! 
> 
> Also another reminder, this story is based on my OCs completely. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.


	10. PART 2, CHAPTER 4: Survival of The Fittest

A chilly breeze, one that felt like the good ole late summers of September, blew in pass the scruffy bearded man who slept on his back, blanket covering him, keeping him and his restless dreams in a bundle of warmth. Over on the right side, there’s a crackle of static. The walkie talkie frequency was trying to speak, squeaking ever so often which only annoyed the sleeping man, causing him to roll over onto his side and coddle up with his lumpy pillow that smelt like vanilla extract.  

_“. . . I repeat . . . escaped . . . Search . . .”_

The sentenced glitched in and out, having the man turn back, his eyes squinting at the small handheld device.

_"I repeat . . The subjects have escaped Facility 3S. A search is in session.”_

His hand reaches out in a fast motion, grabbing the piece of machinery, and sitting up the top half of his body while holding it close to his ear; listening in on WCKD’s Berg pilots taking. Quickly, he grabs for his notebook that he writes everything down in and a pen, clicking to unshield the ink tip and began marking the coordinates of where they searched, where they’re going to search, and any possibilities of where the subjects could be.

_“Group A and Group C. They both left just a hours ago; the facility has been on shut down. These two groups are more important than the others. We need to find them ASAP.”_

The call ends and he sits down the walkie, exhaling deeply before flipping to the last pages of his mini notebook, adding a tally mark to the existing ones. Counting them up, there was four thousand seven hundred and fifty. That equaled thirteen years and five days. Thirteen years and five days; that’s how long he went without his daughter. Without his family. And he was determined to get it back even if it killed him.

He gets dressed, splashing his face with cold water from his canteen and packs up his bags, heading out into the crisp night of the Scorch.

On the radio, one of the WCKD men mentioned a section of the Scorch known as Crankland; saying that if the kids would be going anywhere, that’d be the first place to go. Granted, it’d take the teens a few days to reach it so they’ll be searching the surrounding areas of the facility rather than Crankland. And with that, it provided him the opportunity to get there and wait.

 

It had been six hours of walking, sipping on the last two swigs of his water, and gnawing on his trail mix. The sun rose higher and higher as his boots kicked at the sand and pebbles on the ground, him humming a small tune to himself to make it seem like he wasn’t completely alone. He frowned, wishing that he hadn’t lost the family photo of his daughter from before the world got so out of hand. He used to stay in the mall with others until they began turning and it became an infested place. He got the hell out of dodge, mind moving fast and thought he had grabbed everything but of course, he hadn’t.

With a glance down at his watch, he seen that it was only nine in the morning which meant that the day just barely begun. Out in here, in the Scorch, the days seemed longer and with everything that was hidden out in it, the more danger lurks. That is, if you’re not paying attention.

His back and forehead was producing sweat but the gusts of winds helped out, cooling him off just a tad as he made the agonizing journey to where he needed to go. His feet throbbed, heels getting blistered but it wasn’t nothing that he couldn’t handle. He remembered his days back then of being a Marine, doing his duties. This was just like that.

In the distance, there sat a small crummy looking building that had been abused by the harsh conditions of the Scorch. It stood tall, looking stable and quite homey which is and was very peculiar for a place that was in a barren landscape.

He draws close, wandering up, noticing the front door of the structure. It was wooden, chipped, and out of place like as if someone just found a random piece of oak wood and laid it in front in a non civilized manner. Shifting his body off to the side, he spotted a vehicle that was covered in a cream color tarp that he could’ve easily missed since it blended in with the sand dunes that were located behind it.

The man travels on over in a weary manner, looking it over to make sure that there was no boobytraps to set off. After a moment of searching, finding nothing, he grabs the hem of the sheet, taking it off, and eyed the car that was neatly cleaned inside and out. There was no trash, no scratch marks, no dents, or anything of the sort. It looked like it was just released an from old car dealer’s place. The only thing that gave off the sense that it was used was the numerous duffle bags in the back seats.

His hand raises, wiping off the window as he leans down, hovering his hands above his eyes to peer in, making shade for his hazel eyes to adjust and focus as he began observing what was all there.

Clothes, ammo, weapons, shoes, two cardboard boxes of canned food with plastic silverware, two can openers, a bundle of logs, three lighters, a small canteen of gas, blankets, books, four boxes of something that he couldn’t read since the label was hidden, and six milk jugs that were filled with water.

_Whoever owned this car was prepared,_ he thought to himself, backing away, wondering if anyone was around because he didn’t want to steal from people who put their time and effort into getting these items just for someone to ransack them and leave them with little to nothing.

Just then from behind him, he sensed a presence, rotating himself around in a quick manner to see a woman in her late thirties with brown eyes, long and naturally flowing dark brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail, and an athletic physique. Her skin was tanned—almost golden; an olive complexion. In front of her, she held a pistol, aiming it straight at his chest, a hard expression being worn on her face. He raises his hands, giving her the signal that he wasn’t going to attempt anything.

“Get away. From. The car." She barks loudly, her voice letting him know that she was of Israeli descent. “Leave peacefully and there'll be no harm.”

A woman then strolls on out of the shelter, speaking tenderly as she stood off on the side. “We can’t shoot first and ask questions later. You know that. Let’s just ask what he wants.”

She had dark eyes, short dark wavy hair, and her skin was an ochre color, kinda reminding him of the soft brown light that shines down on a forest when it’s late in the day.

“Who are you? And can you tells us why are you here?”

“My name is Lee,” he begins generously, looking over the two fierce women right in front of him; one still having her weapon drawn out. “I’m just trying to find my daughter.”

“No ones come here.” The other woman began, tightening her grip on her gun. “Now go, find your daughter somewhere else. We have our own problems to mind.”

The one frowned. “We have the same affliction.” A pause. “I’m Linda,” her sweet voice chimes as if it were made of candy itself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Been a long time since I’ve met another like us.”

“He’s not like us.”

Linda looks to her. “He’s _missing_ his child. We _exactly_ know what that means now these days.”

“Your kid’s been taken by WCKD, too.” Lee lowered his hands, now putting his attention on Linda. “How long has it been?”

“Eight years. She’d be sixteen by now.” Linda reached into her cardigans pocket, pulling out a folded up picture and flashed it to Lee. “Her name’s Emma.”

From where he stood, Lee could see a young girl around the age of two with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, sitting in Linda’s lap while wearing a big santa hat. The other woman was sitting next to them with a black and white cat dressed in an elf vest. He gently smiled but then felt himself getting glum from not having the picture of his little one cuddling up to her stuffed teddy bear.

“That was our last normal Christmas before the sun flares. Then down the line of six years, WCKD came in, taking her away from us, promising that they’d keep her safe and that we could visit. They lied. They moved her to a different location without telling us, they went and basically made themselves invisible. We’ve been trying to find her ever since.” Linda sniffled, feeling herself getting upset and placed the picture back into her pocket.

She then realized that her wife still had her gun pointing on Lee, sighing and rested her hand on her shoulder. Slowly, the woman defused the situation, placing her pistol back into her thigh holster, folding her arms in front of her chest as she cleared her throat.

“Ramona. And I don’t take kindly to strangers so please, if you feel offended, you should.” Right away, Lee knew that she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Duly noted.” He nods in understanding. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just seen the car, and your supplies, I only ask for water and a pair of clothes.”

“What?” Ramona remarks in an acerbic tone but smirks. It reminded him of a Good-Cop-Bad-Cop routine. Maybe that’s what she used to be before the world turned upside down. “You don’t have enough already in that military tactical hiking bag of yours?”

Linda tisks, “Mona.” She says in a harsh murmur.

“If it’s going to be a problem, I won’t bother. I’ll just be on my way—”

“Nonsense.” Linda smiles to him, giving a nod as well. “How long have you been out there ambling?

Lee checks his watch. “Little over seven hours now.”

“Please, come inside.” Linda motions towards the doorway, the slab of tree moved for the walkway. “You must be exhausted. Take a nap.”

“Really, I’ll be fine—”

Ramona rolls her eyes. “It wasn’t an offer. It was an order.”

“Mona,” Linda gently scolds her. Ramona looks away, facial features tightening. Linda gestures inside again. “It’s okay, Lee. Really. I insist.”

He thinks for a moment, casting a glance back out at the horizon. _I need to move, but I should rest._

Reluctantly, he follows Linda inside and sets his pack down on the ground. He leans his back against it, drawing one of his knees into his chest and resting his head against the wall, thinking of his kid for the millionth time that day.

Lee shakes his head to clear his mind. The face of his child popping into his head was just making him sad again, and he was tired of being sad. “What did you guys do? Before all this, I mean,” he asks, trying to get his mind off of things.

Linda exchanged a troubled glance with Ramona, who answered first. “I was a cop. Deputy, to be more specific. Was for over five years.”

Lee let out a chuckle. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.” At Ramona’s eyebrow raise, Lee quickly corrected himself. “In a good way. Cops are tough, and so are you.” He looked over at Linda, who was avoiding his gaze. “What about you?”

“Post-Flares Coalition.” Lee recoiled in surprise, and Linda couldn’t wipe the guilt from her face. “That’s who I worked for. I wasn’t directly involved in the development and spread of the Flare, but…” Linda trailed off with a sigh, and Ramona put a hand on her shoulder. Linda grasped it gratefully, her thumb stroking the top of her hand. “Not a day passes that I don’t think about it. I can’t help but feel that . . . I’m part of the reason the world is the way it is.”

“I was in the Marines,” Lee said, and Linda finally met his gaze. “My faction helped distribute the virus that the PFC gave us. Didn’t think it would be that bad. But a couple of guys on my crew got infected, and . . .” Lee cleared his throat, making a small smile to try and stop himself from getting emotional. “Anyway. You don’t have to feel guilty about anything. All of us were at least a little bit involved.”

The three fell into silence for a moment, none of them knowing what to say. Not until Ramona noticed a diamond wedding band hanging from a chain on Lee’s neck. “Whose ring are you wearing? Around your neck,” she asks, pointing to it. Lee reaches up and touches it before running his thumb over his own gold band on his left hand.

“My wife. Rose.” An image of Rose’s face flashed in Lee’s mind, her blonde hair catching the sun and a small laugh escaping her lips. “She died near the beginning. She was out in her flower garden, planting violets and Crank got in the fence, managed to bite her before we could kill it. She was fine for the first few days until it got worse. I thought that . . . locking her up was the best option. I mean, I didn’t know what else to do. But what I did know was that, I didn’t want my kids to see her like that. And she didn’t either.”

His hazel eyes closed as Rose’s giggles in his ears morphed into her screams that he vividly remembered every night before he put himself to sleep. “We heard her. Every night. No matter what we did, we couldn’t mute it out. They were . . . the most horrible noises I’ve ever heard. And that’s a lot to say coming from a Marine . . . Maybe it hurt a lot more because I loved her.”

Linda’s brows were pinched together in empathetic pity, and Ramona’s face was unreadable.

Lee continued. “One night she stopped screaming. I went to check on her, my oldest kids followed behind . . .  There was a trail of blood leading out of the bathroom. It was all over the sink, and her as she sat in the corner of the room just quiet. She’d clawed her own eyes out.” Linda let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

Linda moved closer to Lee, putting a hand on his knee. “You won’t lose anyone else, Lee. We’ll make sure of that.”

“Damn right.” Ramona’s voice caught Lee’s attention, and he looked up at her. A mix of compassion and anger were written on her features. “We know what it’s like to lose people. And it won’t happen again.”

Lee was able to manage a small smile. “Thanks.”

“Sleep now. I’ll wake you in a couple hours.” Linda stood up and walked back over to her wife, offering Lee a small smile. “Really. Sleep. You deserve it.”

Lee didn’t want to, but he couldn’t deny the fatigue that was starting to overwhelm him. His whole body was heavy, and his eyelids were threatening to flutter shut and never open again. He sighed and situated himself on the floor, laying on his back and resting his head on his pack. Just like every night, he thought of his family before falling asleep.

 

Ky’s eyes open, hearing a few others that had woken up before her, talking about what to do. She grunts, sitting up and rubs her face, trying to perk herself up for the day that laid ahead of them. Over on the left, James sat on the old blue plastic sponge filled seat of the old run down bus that they found during the night. A blanket was draped over his shoulders as he kept an eye on Sapph and Owe who were still sleeping besides one another. And to the right, Dean was speaking with Bia about something with Jess, Lina, Carlos, and Des standing by.

Ky lets out a yawn, a scratchy noise stirring in the back of her throat as she did. Her arms stretch out in a slow motion, giving her body time to crack and feel relaxed after sleeping on the hard floor of the bus.

“Hey, Ky.” Chloe strolled on over, offering a hand out to help her up. Ky takes it, her legs buckling for a moment until they stationed themselves. “You alright there? Seem a little shaky from the wake up.”

“Still tired.” She addresses. “But I can’t sleep forever, can I? We gotta get moving.”

Chloe nods. “To the mountains we go.”

“Why the mountains?”

“Apparently there’s a group up there that Lina overheard Janson speak of. Called the Right Arm. I don’t know much of it, I mean, none of us do. But Lina said that they attacked WCKD and want us ‘Immunes’, as they call us, just as much as WCKD does. So they have to be the good guys in all of this.”

Ky thinks about it for a second, “Yeah. I guess so.”

Once Owe and Sapph finally awoke, the Islers headed out on their long voyage.

They climbed up a small mound of rubble from a broken spiral platform that used to take drivers up the next level of the parking garage to park, circling up and heading out on the roof. Suddenly, the line of them went into a halt, feeling stunned at the sight they seen right before their very own pairs of eyes.

In front of them, there was two rows of a dozen broken down, ruined buildings. They were discolored, torn at, some had caved in and few had missing sections. Sand piled up against a few and there was rusty cars and other vehicles that littered the cracked road that was down below. Further up, there was a collapsed bridge and it looked menacing to say the least.

Jess furrowed her brow. “This is what Director Ava Paige must’ve meant by the solar flares damaging the earth. Everything’s just . . waste.”

“You think the whole world’s like this?” Sapph worried.

“Majority, but there should still be some pockets of life here and there.” Jess assured her. “We’ll have a home again. All of us.”

“Unless we don’t.” Des shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck; something that she had been doing a lot recently as Quinn noticed. “We managed to survive, somehow. Who says that our families did? Our old houses?”

Sapph frowned, feeling herself getting more anxious and Owe reached for her hand, letting her know that he was there for comfort. He then scowled at Des. “She’s scared, Des. Can you _at least_ ease up a bit?”

“Just being brutally honest here, and if that makes me the bad guy then I’m sorry. But if you hadn’t noticed, not everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows. It never was. We’re in the real world now and as we just witnessed last night, there’s danger. Sapph was the bravest person last night to save Bia and Ky from the infected. There’s no need to treat her like a little kid; she earned that right.” She shakes her head, taking the lead from Bia and began the walk down into the ruins of what used to be a city filled with life.

No one spoke another word. They just went after in their single file line.

It had taken them about an hour to walk through the desolate landscape, clearing out after a climb and entering the mounds of sand once again which caused for working calf muscles. Micky was the first to make a complaint, saying how her legs felt like jello and she needed a nap. Cass chided her, saying that they just woke up an hour ago. Micky mocked her back, pulling out one of her granola bars and bit into it with annoyance.

Barton, the slick creature he was, he scurried out of Micky’s bag and trekked alongside the Islers. His long tail swaying back and forth as he galloped in the sand, running ahead of the group and even dove into one mound of sand. It made a few Islers laugh, giving them something to be happy about even if it was for a few short seconds.

Time dragged on and on as they passed a torn bridge that used to stretch across a body of water, feeling the air being picked up, turning into strong winds. Right to left, the teenagers were being pelted with the grains of sand but some were lucky enough to have scarfs and had packed extra clothes to create shields for their faces. James still had his blanket, using it as a shelter for him, Owe, Sapph, Anne, and Quinn. Lina, Chloe, and Jess teamed up, tying shirt sleeves together to create their own little blanket and used that. Samuel, Dean, Carlos, and Charlie, they hunkered down in a small group and covered their faces with their packs, casually strolling. Ky was off by herself, having her hood up that was abnormally large to the point that it drooped over her forehead and eyes. She just held out the sides, protecting her cheeks and neck as she made way.

Mark of four hours meant it was time for a pit stop. Barton helped the gang find a small hollowed out shelter that was surrounded by a crumbled house. They sat down, pulling out the food and separated it into rations, distributing it out evenly and made sure that everyone got water, a granola bar or an apple which James managed to find, and a can surprise of something since they had washed out labels and couldn’t read what they said. Luckily, Lina had a superpower—as they all joked. She would shake a can and just by the sound, could correctly guess what was inside. James called her a wizard, saying that it was her natural talent.

“I guess I can just pick up on things that most people wouldn’t.” She suggested, picking up another and gave it a good shake before handing it over to Micky. “Mick, I believe this is peaches.”

Micky took out her knife that she was given by Hayley and stabbed it into the top, opening it up and peered inside. “Damn. You’re correct again, you funky creature.” She places her thumb and forefinger in, grabbing a sliced peach and popped it into her mouth, chewing. “Hmm, this is so sweet and juicy.”

Quinn laughed, using their own fingers to scoop out the contaminants of their tin can that was baked beans. “Can we call Lina our Trash Bear?”

“Why Trash Bear?” 

“Bears are very good detectors of food.” Jess piped up. “And they are quite cute to look at and hug even though they can easily kill you.”

Lina chuckled, “Alright, then. I’ll be your Trash Bear.”

Quinn nods in approval, eyeing the gang to see that Des wasn’t among them. They glance out, seeing her standing out on her own, eyeing the horizon where the mountains were. The mountains were bigger than before, telling the group that they were very _very_ close to reaching the Right Arm.

Anne followed Quinn’s line of sight. “You thinking?”

“I’m thinking that we can’t trust her.” Quinn instantly said without any pause or hesitation. “I trust Sasha more than her, and that’s a pretty big deal considering the fact that Sasha was jacked when she was strangling Ky in the Isle.”

“She hasn’t done anything for us not to trust her, Quinn.”

Quinn shifted, resting their elbows on their knees and leans towards Anne. “WCKD had her, keeping her away from us while we all stayed in one dorm. Out of all of us, why her? And have you seen how she keeps on touching the back of her jackwagon neck? They probably did something to her.”

“Maybe you’re just overthinking?” Anne guessed, not really wanting to believe that something was wrong with Des. They already had too much on their plate, the Islers didn’t need any more.

Easily, Quinn could tell how restless she looked and decided to drop the intense interrogation, nodding. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. Probably just lacking brain function from being in our haze of what’s been going on with WCKD.”

Anne reached out her hand, resting it on top of Quinn’s, giving them a smile and whispered “thank you”. She then sat back to how she was originally, spotting Cass and Chloe coming back from their potty break. One looked uncomfortable, the other upset.

“What’s wrong?”

“It was weird to use the bathroom out here.” Chloe starts first, taking her seat next to Quinn and picked up her water canteen. “Invasion of privacy.”

“Meanwhile,” Cass emphasized, “Mother Nature decided to be a muck and paid me a visit. So, now I feel bloated, my feet hurt, and on top of it, I also feel baggy from wearing this pad.”

James glances to her, being generous and held out an apple that was shiny red. “Here, darlin’. You want this?” His thick British accent being increasingly noticeable from him being extremely relaxed. “It’ll help with your current situation. Reducin’ any cramps you may experience and the swellin’ feelin’.”

For a moment, she thinks, and finally takes it. “Thanks, Jimmy.” Cass instantly sinks her teeth in, biting down and chews the juicey, flavorful fruit; sitting down in the sand.

Ky finished off her own can of peaches, sipping on the juice on that Micky proclaimed was an “unholy sight”. Barton trotted over, perking up on his hind legs and begged for the sticky sweet liquid. With a grant of his wish, Ky placed down the can and Barton stuck his paw inside then brought it up to his mouth, licking it clean.

She then glanced up, seeing Des and wondered why she was away from the group with made her curious. She goes on over.

“Hey,” Ky softly says, not wanting to spook her and joined her at her side. Her eyes set on the mountains in the distance before shifting to Des. “You thinking about the long walk that we still have to take?” She lightly teases.

She doesn’t respond, instead, her eyebrows furrow in deep concentration and her blue eyes move back and forth across the skyline.

“Des?”

“My name’s not Des.”

Ky was suddenly confused. “What?”

“My name,” she finally glances over at her. “It’s not Des. WCKD . . . I don’t know what they did to me but I think they somehow, _reversed_ the forgetting. Giving me a few of my memories back.” She turns away, staring back out over the stretch of land. “They gave us false names. Maybe so we couldn’t remember who we truly were before. You know, like, erasing our identities so we could truly be their property.”

It taken Ky a full minute to completely digest and understand what exactly she was talking about and when it had passed, she had a million questions to ask. From the Preserve, all the memories Ky ever had was of her being called Ky, nothing else. If WCKD had, in fact, erased who they were originally, when did they do so?

“What’s your real name?”

“Blaire.”

She slowly nods. “Would you want to be called Blaire from now on?” If it was Ky and finding out her real name, she’d want that for herself. Because in her mind, it gave power to the person; gave them authority. Gives them something back that WCKD once took away. And in that, there was freedom.

“Ask me tomorrow.” She replied in a low voice, rubbing her back of her neck. “I’m just . . I’m not sure.”

“Okay.” Ky nods, and turned to walk away but stopped herself. “Oh, uh, thanks.” Des glanced to her, an eyebrow arched. “If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never found the way out of the Labyrinth.”

“It was no big deal.” She shrugs it off.

“To me, it was.” Ky whispered, but it was loud enough for Des to hear. She headed back to the gang, seeing them packing up their things as Bia checked her broken watch from the Isle, announcing that it was time to head out again.

Overhead, they heard a humming of some machine and everyone instantly ducked down, hiding out of sight, seeing a huge large aerial flying vehicle with two large helicopter-like blades on either side, with rotatable jet engines on the back. The aircraft was accompanied by two helicopters on each side. They were searching for the kids, going in a loop around the premises before heading back the way they came.

Jess made the suggestion that they should probably wait another hour or so. And they did.

Later, they were back on the move.

 

Walking, talking, drinking, snacking, and repeat. Walking, talking, drinking, snacking, and repeat. That’s how the rest of the day was spent. As they kept on traveling. At one point, they stopped because Owe believed that he heard the dull sound of a gun being shot off somewhere. No one else heard it, chalking it up to it being Owe’s senses playing tricks on him and moseyed on wards. Sapph stuck by his side, holding his hand tight and ever so often swayed it in an happy manner.

The Scorch grew a dark blue, cold nipping at the Isler’s cheeks and biting their noses which made them turn beat red. The gang grew restless, needing a naps and they all sat down while Carlos found some old pieces of garbage that was able to burn in order to create a fire with Dean. James and Jess helped out of course, telling them the proper way to do so.

Sapph held her arms tight, shivering from her tiny body not having enough fat issue to keep her properly warm so Owe took off his jacket, placing it around her with a gentle smile. She thanked him, scooting close to his side for more warmth. Ky witnessed the act of kindness, finding it to be adorable.

Owe spots her. “What?” He cheekily replies.  
“Nothing.” She shook her head, an ear-to-ear grin plastered on her face.

“Someone wanna hear a ghost story?” Micky pipes up excitedly. “I mean, it kinda feels like we’re in our Isle. Minus well do the favor.”

The Islers agreed, nodding.

“Once upon a time, there was a boy sitting in a room and there was other kids who were there as well. Then, there was an adult, she was having them learn a lesson with these very old, thick, dusty books that were pages beyond pages of boring information.”

Jess shakes her head. “Books aren’t scary, Mick.”

“They were for this fella.” She remarks, “anyways! The adult eyes the boy who was sitting in the third row, pointing at him, and told him to read this ancient passage that talked of human sacrifices. He eyed the first line, glanced up, and said, ‘No, I may not’. The lady was shocked, bewildered. She asked, ‘Why?’.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “His reply . . . ‘I never learned how to muckin’ read’. Thank you! Thank you!” Micky stands, bowing and they all began laughing, clapping from her story.

“A true horror classic.” Chloe giggled.

“I’ll be here all week.” She sits back down, Barton jumping into her lap and she got a brilliant idea. “Oh, Bartholomew! Mister, buddy, can you use your amazing power to play music that you remember Mads playing in the Isle?”

As on cue, Barton hopped off her lap, trotting over, and perching himself upwards on his hind legs. His huge ears fold up and outwards, his mouth opening and his tail raising high. A soft melody began playing, coming from him and Sapph gawked.

“He’s . . . He’s playing music?”

“Extraordinary, isn’t he?” Micky smirks, standing up and takes Cass’s hand in hers. “Let’s get down to boogie.”

James was the next one up, scrolling to Anne and Quinn. “May I take your lovely friend for a dance?” He asks Quinn.

“You may, but only because I like you.”

James flashes a smile at Anne once her hand rested in his, planting a kiss on top, and took her on over to where Micky and Cass were waltzing. He gave her a twirl around, giving her a playful dip back and leaned her back up which made Anne blush.

Des and Hayley went as well as Carlos and Dean; friends and crushes dancing with one another. Quinn gave Ky a suggested look and Ky nodded, getting up from her spot on the ground and joined them.

Sapph and Owe just rested back, watching them all dance and Sapph glanced up at Owe. “So, when you going to man up?”

“‘ _Man up_ ’?”

“You know, make the first move.”

“For what?”

“You’re very clueless, you know that, right?”

“So I’ve heard. From everyone. Except James, actually. He thinks I’m dismal. And monochromatic. And even said spicy once.”

Sapph thinks it through. “I see all of those except for the last one. But he could've meant it as in you’re entertaining and spirited.”

Owe nods. “Yeah, that’d make a lot more sense then what I was originally thinking.” Sapph gave him a puzzling look. “I thought he said spicy because Dean once accidently kissed me during a storm in the Isle.”

“Wow, that is spicy.” She giggles. “Ya, spicy boy.”

“Oh, shut it.”

“But seriously, you know, if you wait for a long time before you finally make a move. All you’re going to do is just lose her, Owe.”

He gulped, his heart sounding a lot heavier in his ears as his eyes shifted through the crowd of dancing bodies, landing on Ky for a short moment. She was laughing which made his heart swell, and showing off her perfect white crested teeth which could burn his eyes at the mere sight. This boy was struck; he knew it. And Sapph did too.

“You should be the one asking her for a dance.”

“I should . . But, I can’t.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“I, uh, I just can’t.”

The music played on and on from Barton, and everyone was having a grand time until the sky got more dark, the air got chilly, and the tiredness crashed in on the Islers like a huge tsunami.

It must’ve been like three hours at the most when Ky awoke later, seeing the dark blue scenery surrounding her and her friends. The smell of smoke still came from the embers of the fire, and the winds blew still. She rolled over, about to close her eyes until she spotted Sapph, seeing her aimlessly treading back and forth.

She gets herself up, tightening her jacket and hoodie around her frame, wiping her sleepy eyes. “Hey, Sapph. You have a nightmare?”

Sapph shrugs gently, holding her pendant on her necklace in her palm. “Yeah. Just a bit. And sleeping on the ground isn’t the most relaxing thing ever.”

“I agree with that.” Ky nods. “You should at least try and go back to bed. We need it desperately.”

“Ky,” her small voice quivered, “Do you . . Do you remember your family?”

“. . No. I know I have a sister, Janson told me but . . . I don’t remember anything about them. But I, I daydream about what they would’ve like. Maybe my sister used to brush my hair when I couldn’t sleep. Maybe my mom made breakfast in the mornings, and made chocolate chip waffles and said that they were made with love. Maybe my dad worked as a guy who’d travel around, see the world, and used to bring me home gifts from places he’s been. Maybe we had a pet dog, named Oscar, and his fur was black and tan. A big, strong dog. One that’d fight off bullies of mine.” Ky listed off.

Sapph just listened to her speak so passionately about her thoughts, finding it kinda heartbreaking yet beautiful in a way that it kinda made sense.

“Why you ask?”

Sapph takes a deep breath. “I think mine wanted to protect me from everything because they knew that I needed it.”

“Sapph, I seen what you did back there for Bia and me . . . I think you’re sorted.”

She shakes her head sadly. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what?” Ky requested as Sapph walks, stopping in front of her, staring up to met her line of sight. She fiddled with her pendant more before dropping it, having it hang loose on the chain, resting on her small chest. 

“WCKD lied to us. We’re not . . . Not all of us are Immune to the virus that’s currently out in here in the Scorch.”

“Wha . . . Why-why, why would you say that? Sapph?”

Slowly but surely, Sapph draped down her jacket and long sleeved shirt, revealing a bite mark. In the margins, there was black goo and small black and blue discoloration. Ky felt her lungs go short of breath for a second or two.

“When I saved Bia . . I got hurt.”

Ky was about to say something but the sky crackled, booming loudly which made the Isler awake in a daze, not knowing what was going on. With Ky facing the way that they traveled, she seen huge, dark, blacken clouds rolling in with lighting coursing through them.

Jess seen them too. “Cumulonimbus. We need to find shelter, now!”

“Why?!” Dean asked, getting himself up.

“They’re dense, towering vertical clouds! They’re known as thunderheads! We can get struck by lightning, and get killed!”

“Guys, look!” Anne points in the direction that they were heading. They all turned, seeing a building with a few lights on in the distance. Seemed to be about four hundred yards away. “Shelter!”

“Will we make it?” Hayley asked.

“As long as you keep runnin’, and don’t focus on what’s happenin’ behind you!” James states, getting his things packed and helped Owe up. “Come on, mate. You and I, we’re teamin’ up on this.” Owe nods, automatically getting onto James’s back and Ky offered to carry Sapph, not wanting her to strain herself after what she was just told and has seen for herself. But she instead on running by her side, taking her hand into hers.

“Okay, let’s go!” They began sprinting, charging full force towards the building that was so close yet so far away from them.

Lightning began striking the ground, shaking it with every jolt. The thunder seemed to roar at the, like a lion roaring at a hyena for trespassing on its land and the began to howl like wolves in the night. The Islers all ran, hurrying as fast they could. Some began looking back over their shoulder, making falling behind in line while other gained speed.

Bolts of lightning came down, striking close to Des but she averted it, jumping off to the left. Another came down in a blaze, hitting Jo and her body instantly crashed into the dirt, laying restless with smoke lingering off of her. Her heart had stopped beating.

“Jo!” Sarah cried out, trying go to back for her but Samuel grabbed her, saying that there was nothing that they could do and continued.

“We’re almost there!” Bia sprinted up ahead. “Come on!”

It was now down to two hundred years, and it felt as if the building was in arm’s reach. They could literally feel the safety, darting through old broken down cars, trash cans, and piles of metal scrapings.

Lightning struck down, hitting a vehicle and one of the lightning tendrils bounced out, zapping Carlos and he yelled, tumbling into the ground, rolling. Luckily, it struck him in the shoulder and was a small bolt, giving him a better chance at living. Or at least that’s what a few of them thought since they’re weren’t exactly geniuses. He got up, beginning to run again.

“Move it!” Bia shouts, making it to the door of the building, swinging it open and headed inside. She then holds it open. “Run!”

James makes it in with Owe, dropping him off and glanced back to see Lina, Chloe, Mads, Micky, Cass, Anne, Carlos, and Quinn filing in. The others still back by a few feet.

Ky ran, breathing heavy and kept a death grip on Sapph, daring to not let her go. Sapph’s small legs were falling behind Ky’s, not being able to match her speed. Ky yanked her up, running wild and with determination.

A strike comes down right behind Ky, hitting the ground with extreme force that it knocks her and Sapph forwards onto their stomachs, coughing up sand that flew into their mouths from the blow. From behind Dean comes up with Charlie and the others, helping them up in a quick timely manner, and going straight for the door.

 

Thunder and lightning rumbles, striking the sand which makes Linda cuddle up in her thick knitted blanket, sipping on the sleepy time tea that she just made. She takes a small gander over at Lee who was perched up on the window sill, awake, watching the storm that was happening miles away from them. Other than the storm, the room was rather quiet. Too quiet for one's liking.

“You know, you never did tell us about your daughter, Lee.” Ramona strikes up a conversation, looking over the young man who was in and around his late thirties just like Linda and her. She sits up against the wall she was previously resting on. “We told you about ours. Only seems fitting that you share the story about yours.”

Lee just kept quiet, pondering things repeatedly in his head, trying to sort out his thoughts. Ramona frowned, about to give up and leave but he surprised her with his delicate voice of a broken father.

“I have six kids.” He licks his lips. “Four boys, two girls. The first born is named Ricky, he’s twenty-three. Works for WCKD, actually. But, not for the reason you think. He’s a good kid. Then there’s Deedee, she’s twenty. Worked for WCKD and last I heard from Ricky, she was sent into their Maze Trials to help some boy out. And when you’re sent into the Trials, you forget everything except the name that they give you. So, her name is no longer Deedee, and I never asked to know. She’s safe. Ricky gave me the message. Then there's Bram, nineteen. He was taken to WCKD and Ricky never knew what had happened to him.”

He straightens out his legs, closing his eyes for a deep breath as more thunder rumbling, sounding like a bowling ball traveling down the aisle on its way to knock over pins.

“There’s Lucas and Liam, and they’re twins. Both seventeen. They were taken into WCKD and placed in the Trials . . . Ricky shared the news that only Lucas made it out alive. I was out here, and I found him. He remembered me, and his real name because WCKD gave him his memory back, thinking he’d side with them. Of course, he didn’t. He’s safe now; staying with a friend of mine while I go searching his other twin. My daughter. Carina.”

“Triplets?” Linda asked.

Lee nods. “The boys were each born five minutes apart. Lucas was the first, coming out at 11:50 and Liam was at 11:55. Carina, however, she stayed in there for seven minutes. Rose and I, we used to tease that maybe it was because she was enjoying the free room of not having her brothers.” He cracks a small smile. “She was born at 12:03 the next morning and she, she was so small. She weighed only five pounds, ten ounces. I was so scared to hold her, but once I did, I didn’t want to put her down. I never wanted her to leave my arms.”

He draws in a quick breath, slow and steady. Already, he felt his eyes getting teary.

“She was four, about to turn five, when WCKD came for her. I prepared for everything that could’ve happened, I fought but I was outnumbered; easily was overpowered. And they took her. I was laying in the stone and . . And I heard her screaming for me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t move, and I had to hear her being taken away.”

Linda sniffled, wiping away a few tears that fell from her face. She felt so emotion for this man who had quickly became their friend. He deserves the world, she mentally thought. He deserves happiness. Just like all of us.

“I was able to visit once, a few years later. Carina would’ve been around the age of twelve. I wasn’t allowed to see her but I did get to see my other daughter, Deedee. We had a conversation about what was right and wrong. She believed that WCKD was the right place to be; to find a cure and help save the world. She was correct, it was the right thing to do but what they did with the virus, knowing about the solar flares approaching but never warned anyone else other than than the worthy. WCKD was at least trying to fix the mess they made; they had good intentions but the way they executed them weren’t. Taking kids who were Immune to the virus, putting them in those Trials . . . I told Deedee that she didn’t know what was people’s hearts. And she told me that she knew what was in hers . . . That was the last time I saw her.”

It fell silent again and the ladies had no idea what to say. The atmosphere had so much tension and turmoil that nothing could really break through and clear away the smoke that was billowing within Lee’s mind.

Lee rotates his head, finally facing Ramona and Lina who were sitting next to each other, holding one another’s hands. “Now Ricky, my eldest, he cared about Carina—just like the others—but with him being the first born and her, being the baby, he felt that responsibility of a parent.”

He chuckles for a moment, thinking back on those glorious days of his children’s childhoods. Playing ball in motel pools, planting vegetables and fruit in the family garden, going to zoos and aquariums, etc.  

“Rose used to say that even though Carina was Lucas and Liam’s twin, her real other half was Ricky. Those two were like glue and paper; bonding every moment and shared everything. Got to the point that Ricky nicknamed her Little Ky since his name ended with a K and a Y. ‘She’s not a Rick and not icky, she’s Ky’, he used to say. Eventually, the name stuck. Carina became Ky.” He smiles fondly. “That’s why Ricky joined WCKD. He joined for the sole purpose of making sure that Carina’ll be okay . . . That whenever she finally escaped the Trials, he’d help her come home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thank you to MissMaier for helping me out with the introduction bit! :D


	11. PART 2, CHAPTER 5: Uranus & Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter includes a death of a child OC. There's nothing graphic about it but there is some heavy angst. Viewer Discretion is advised. Also!! For the bottom, when it happens, highly recommended to listen to Uranus (Instrumental) by Sleeping At Last to get the full affect :)

“Sound off.” Bia shines her light on the faces that surround her in the darkness that lit up every once in a while from the bolts of electricity outside. Mentally, she counts a total of twenty-three Islers which makes her frown. “We’re losing one member.”

“Jo.” Sarah frowned. “She’s got hit by lightning.”

Bia takes a moment, composing herself and nods. “Moment of silence please, for our fallen sister.” She drops her light, shining it on the ground and closed her eyes.

They all stayed quiet, listening to the silence and occasional rumbles of the thunder until someone sniffed at the air, breaking into a cough and covering their mouth and nose.

“What the hell is that? You guys smell that odor?” Dean coughs, shifting the beam of light of his flashlight all around the open space. “It’s extremely fowl.”

“I smell it too.” Chloe strolls around with him, searching for wherever the unpleasant stench was originating from.  

Ky still kept a hand on Sapph, their fingers intertwined, determined to keep her close as if it would somehow help her with the bite that marked her shoulder. Sapph faced a beam, getting close to it and took in a big breath of air into her nostrils, coughing.

“There’s a smell coming from over here, too.”

James overhears her remark, agreeing as he glanced over at the two short girls. “Yeah, all over. Like it’s surrounding us.”

Dean’s flashlight began going out, the light dimming ever so often and he whacked the side of it, trying to get it to come back to life. On the sixth hit, the beam glows bright and he glances up, seeing one of the non-Immunes right in front of him. The woman lets out a screech, trying to claw at him but he moves back fast, placing a hand out in front of Chloe. The woman runs forwards but gets stuck, standing in place, making inhuman noises. Dean flashed back behind her, seeing that the woman’s left wrist was chained up to the one support beam.

Ky then heard a chain in front of her and Sapph, quickly moving them backwards in a hurry and as she did, a struck of lightning lit up the building, showing a flash of an infected man trying to grab at them. James moved fast, getting in front of Ky and Sapph, whacking the person in the side of the head. They fell down onto the ground, spitting up the black liquid and its head was now at angle from the amount of force that James hit him with.

All the Islers backed up, more of the chained infected persons revealing themselves in true horror fashion, some were chained around wrists, torsos, and others by neck. If Ky had to count, she guessed thirty. They were in the back, in other areas where they haven’t been and it was a sight that was going to scar them all for the rest of their days.

“I was wonderin’ if people were going to show up!” A young voice rings out and the Islers turned, seeing a silhouette of a person standing in a doorway with a light on behind them.

They wander in through the sea of tied up infected, casually making way without flinching or looking worried. The figure stands a few feet away from them and Bia places the light on them, revealing who the mystery person was. A boy. A young teenage boy who seemed to be about seventeen years, brown hair, light brown eyes, skinny yet kinda muscled. He only wore a dark blue hoodie with a dark green army jacket kinda like Ky’s with a light grey shirt and jeans.

He just smiles gently. “You guys can come and follow me, if you’d like. Doubt you want to be out there in the storm, or you know, in here with our guard dogs.”

Many of the Islers agreed with that sentiment, following the boy through the weaving of the infected and entered the little hallway where the boy had appeared from.

In the back, there was Jess and the boy asked her to shut the door. She did, but not before taking one last long gander at the humans. She catches up with the group, clearing her throat. “So, how did you capture them?”

“Capture what?”

“The infected people.”

He nervously smiles, shaking his head. “Uh, we don’t. They were friends and we took precautions before they turned. We kept them here, not wanting them to go loose into Crankland.”

“The hell is ‘Crankland’?” Bia wanders, knitting her brows together.

The boy glances over his shoulder. “Crankland is where the ones who turned go because they basically populate it now. Used to be a big city section of the Scorch until the Flare came, taking over the lives of humans, turning them into cannibalistic monsters that we call Cranks.”

They wandered down, heading to another door and he opened it from the side, scooting it over to reveal a huge area where people were living with stringed lights, tents, hammocks, and metal barrels that they used to make fires to warm themselves up for the nights.

The Islers follow behind, passing through and some received a few dirty looks from a few people which made them stare back directly in their directions. Sapph had slipped away from Ky, going to Owe and held his hand tight, keeping close at his side. She held onto the pendant in her other hand, eyes darting to every other person.

“Hurry on up, guys!” The boy says in a happy tone, making some feel settled and more relaxed than before in the tense environment. He starts traveling up the one staircase, Bia hot on his trail with Des. “Someone wants to see you.”

“Who in the world wants to meet us?” Des asks.  
“Maybe someone who’s willing to help?” Hayley suggested, glancing around the room for a moment before giving a shrug.

Sasha rolls her eyes. “Or someone who wants to use us for personal gain.”

Quinn grins, looking to the copper skinned girl. “You know, you’re growing on me more and more whenever you speak.”

“Careful.” She warns in a teasing tone. “Your girlfriend, Anne, might get jealous.”

“I didn’t realize we were getting in more strays, Lucas?” Some bearded man replies, stepping out from a doorway to stand at the staircase, watching the Islers heading up one by one.

Quinn sizes him up despite being a couple inches shorter, firmly placing themselves in front of him to check him out. His breath smelled of alcohol and garlic which turned up their nose, his clothes were ragged and ruined, and he wore cotton gloves that had the fingertips cut off. He even had a few missing teeth, probably due to his poor hygiene.

The boy who was leading them, Lucas as the man called him, he peers over the ledge down at him. “Barkley, Jorge just wants to see them.”

Barkley, the man, steps back and Quinn continues up, Anne following along with Owe, Sapph, Lina, Ky, and others.

“Who’s this Jorge fella, Luca?” James clears his throat, sauntering up next to the boy who seemed to be a year younger than him. “He the person in charge around here?”

“You can say that, yeah.” [Lucas](https://66.media.tumblr.com/8923b990c4b8da6b223cb137f5da0844/tumblr_pbq22kGCDS1v6obh9o2_400.gif) nods, clearing his throat. “People rarely come on out here in the Scorch due to the conditions. So whenever they do, it makes us all kinda curious about what their intentions are. He just likes to ask.”

In the back Lina heard a few cackles, glancing over her shoulder to see a few of the men were walking with them but staying back by a distance. She gulps, facing forwards, leaning over to Jess. “I’m getting a weird vibe from this place.”

Ky looks to her, having overheard and peered back at the men as well. “Anything happens, we can make a break for it.”

Across a small little bridge and up another flight of stairs that had blue lights emitting on them, they entered an orange lit area that seemed to resemble an attic. There was metal shelves filled with dusty things, cups, bags, an old beaten up sofa that had a spring poking out from the side, and dirty window panels; some clean, broken, and even web-cracked. In the midst of it all, there was a man sitting at a desk, his back turned to them, listening to the static of a radio.

“Jorge, I brought them.”

“Shush.” He man doesn’t even look back, just placing up his one hand to signal for Lucas to be quiet. Indistinctive radio chatter speaks, the Islers gathering around and listened in all while witnessing the man tuning the knobs and pressing the one headphone to his left eardrum that was hooked up to the machine.

The radio goes still, he unplugs the cord.

“Damn it.” He tosses the headphones off to the side, placing his palms out on the desk, inhaling and exhaling which settled his tense shoulders down.

Lucas stands with the Islers, crossing his arms in front of his chest and focuses on the older Hispanic man that he had spent two months with previously. To the young lad, Jorge was like a grandfather. Or the uncle in families that usually arrives late to the family gatherings, bringing a platter with them, saying it's home cooked when really it was just store bought. And you figure that out because the receipt falls from their coat pocket onto the floor.

“Nothing still?”

Jorge shakes his head. “No, hermano.” He rotates around, gazing directly at him until his eyes wander to the other teenagers. “Welcome.”

“Hi.” Sapph shyly waves, her voice wavering.

He shifts his dark brown eyes to hers, a friendly smile being plastered on his face as he slowly bent down a few inches to be in her line of sight and not scare her. “Hi there, how are you?”

“Nervous.”

“Nothing to be nervous about, dear little one. I'm a nice guy. I'll just ask your friends a few questions and that's all. Deal?”

Sapph nods, clutching to Owe’s hand even more. Owe does the same, his thumb gently stroking the top of hers to soothe her troubles and worry. Something he normally did with Quinn, Anne, James, and even Ky whenever they were having mental or emotional turmoil within the Isle. Those days now seemed forever ago.

Jorge gets back up, straightening his spine and placed his hands on his hips while the thunder continues to rumble outside. “Three answers, that’s all I ask of you. The first one being, where’d you come from?”

“‘ _Where’d you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eyed Islers_?’” Micky teases under her breath, Quinn nudging her in the ribs. “What?” She said harshly, not knowing what was wrong about making a joke in that time and moment.

Lucas had heard the term Islers, the word sticking with him. He looks to Jorge, witnessing him already giving a look, wondering if he wanted him to press them on for the first question since no one answered. Lucas shakes his head, notifying that he can continue.

“Second. Where are you going?”

James took the reins on this one, finding it to be a simpler answer than the first. “We’re heading for the mountains. Looking for a group by the name of Right Arm.”

A few men that stood behind them snickered.

Jorge side glances to Lucas and he gives a thumbs up; that meant to press on for more information. And Jorge did just that.

“Looking for ghosts?”

“‘ _Ghosts_ ’?” Anne asks.

“The Right Arm doesn’t exist, sorry. They’re a myth. All you’re doing is chasing around something that you hear about but never see.”

James cranes his neck. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that we believe in them . . . The only way to get proof is to go searching. Isn’t that right?”

Jorge stifled a laugh, shaking his head. “How can I profit?”

“You can’t.” Quinn clears their throat. “This is our journey. Not yours. We’ll leave once the storm is over. Wouldn’t want to bother you and your guard dogs that insisted on following us up here like a pack of wolves up here.”

“You in charge?”

Quinn rolls their eyes, pointing to the one dirty blonde. “No, you’d want our handy dandy leader Bia for that.”

Once they finish the statement, Lucas goes and grabs a device that Jorge kept for emergencies while the men held back the group of teenagers away from the girl that was named Bia; placing her knees on the ground and exposing the back of her neck. He hurries over, pressing the button which made a red beam produce out of the handheld machinery, lingering up and down the small section of skin. A small box with lines and dots show up, being registered and Lucas checks the screen, his heart falling into the pit of his stomach.

“Hermano,” Jorge begins, putting on his glasses as Lucas takes it over to him, revealing the screen.  He reads the three lines. “Bia. Property of WCKD. Group C, Subject C-ten. The _Monarch_.”

Jess’s head began working in overdrive. “A sovereign head of state; like a king or a queen. That’s a monarch.”

“Looks like we found who we needed.” Jorge remarks, shifting his gaze to Lucas then to the other men who still kept their hands on the teens. “Place them in our other room since the one is currently _occupied_ at the moment.”

And just like the storm outside, the Islers had vanished to somewhere else.

The room was big, dusty, poorly lit by the moonlight’s glow, and the Islers were all alone. Their ankles and wrists were bound with duct tape, making it hurt whenever they tried to move their hands around to break loose. Each and every one of them was in groups of six all except one that had five, having four different clusters of annoyed, angry, and mellowed out Islers.

The six that was closest to the door where the men had brought the kids in where Jess, Hayley, Mick, Cass, Dean, and Chloe. They were the group that was trying to conjure up some miracle plan to escape and leave back into the Scorch.

Off to the left, there was Bia, Samuel, Mads, Quinn, Lina, and Amirah. The six of them were bickering, saying that all of them should’ve left once they seen that there was a whole group that lived in that building.

Across from them was Des, Sarah, Sapph, Sasha, Bridge, and Owe. They just kept silent, hearing all the chaos of the arguing. Sapph felt her chest tightening, letting out small coughs here and there while she rested her weary head on Owe’s shoulder.

Then in the very back, there was the lonely group of five; Ky, Anne, Charlie, Carlos, and James. They were all resting on one another, feeling drained, tired, and it was like the situation didn’t even matter in that moment. Those five were the most calm and it made Amirah upset.

“How can you guys just sit there and do nothing?”

“They’re not going to kill us.” James nods, “we’re too valuable.”

Quinn scoffs. “Yeah, we are. We’ve been marked by WCKD. Looks like we were never our own selves. We’re always going to belong to them.”

Sapph coughs out loud, lifting her head off of Owe’s shoulder and he looks to her. “You alright, Sapph?”

She’s quiet for a moment, drawing in a small breath. “No. I . . I need to tell you something but I’m scared for how you’ll react.”

“Why you care what I’ll think?”

“Because you have no idea how much you mean to me.”

Ky lifts her head, being near the group and watched as Sapph was trying to figure out how to tell her secret that she only told her. Ky also noticed how ill she was becoming as more and more the night went on. Every so often her nose sniffled, breathing would shorten, there was bag under her eyes, and she’d shiver as if she was out in the cold, drizzling rain. But the worst part was her lips; they already began turning color, shifting into a dark bluish purple.

Owe didn’t seem to notice but then, neither did anyone else. But Ky did. She did and felt herself wanting to protect the little one more than anything, for the rest of their trip through the Scorch and up until they found Right Arm. Ky had no clue how much time Sapph had but she hoped that it was enough for them to get where they were going.

Sapph eyes Owe and he nods, giving her his full undivided attention. Her words slowly begin to form, voice delicate as if it was a glass plate being carried by a small toddler.

“The infected person, a uh, a Crank? I think, that’s what that boy called them . . But uh, I was bitten by it when I pressed Bia out of the way.” She whimpered gently. “Right on my shoulder.”

Owe shakes his head, putting on a small smile. “That’s, hey, that’s nothing. Alright. You’re going to be fine. Alright? I promise.”

“Owe,” Ky softly whispered to him, already sensing that he was going into denial.

His eyes meet hers briefly. “She’ll be okay, Ky. I know that. She’ll be okay. We’ll get out of here, and it’s just a flesh wound so we’ll have Jess take a look at it, get clean it up, and she’ll be good to go.”

“Owe,” she begins again, her tone benevolent, “we can’t just can’t ignore this. You and I both know that. I know it’s hard to believe, but if Sapph believes that something’s wrong or that she feels strange, we need to trust her. Need to take her word for it.”

James, having been eavesdropping, agrees with Ky. “Owey, I know you don’t want to listen but she’s right. Something bad could be happening to Sapph. We need to get the help outta here, and fast . . Just in case.”

“Just in case what, James?” Owe says in suppressed anger; trying not to make a big deal out the situation but it was already too much to handle, to bear.

“If she turns . .”

“Who? Sapph?” Des exclaimed, getting everyone’s attentions.

Chloe then asks, “What about Sapph?”

“Sapph may turn.”

“Turn to what?” Micky speaks.

“A Crank.”

That caused the uproar amongst them. Tons of opinions were being thrown and shouted, the bitter bickering flared up again and it was just mayhem. Islers began shouting at one another, explaining what they should do and how to handle the news. Wanting to divert the conversation to literally anything else, Anne quickly remembered about the tag that they were speaking out previously on Bia and used that for a new topic.

“Guys! What about the tags? WCKD marked Bia! Called her the _Monarch_. Do you think that we were all marked as well?”

The clamor subsided and Sapph mouthed a sheepish “thank you”, feeling her head getting foggy and eyelids heavy for a nap.

“It is possible that we all been tagged and each have names that WCKD used to call us by.” Jess remarks.

“But why?” Carlos shrugs. “What good does that even do?”

“Jess did say that monarch meant being a queen, and Bia is our leader; the one in charge. The first person that showed up in the Isle before Ky . . . Maybe the names are to label us, to tell who’s who and what our number one trait is.” Lina thinks aloud, wiggling around in her tape to try and get circulation in her blood flowing.

“We need the boy Lucas . . He can tell us what our names are.” Cass nods. “And we can figure out what our strengths are as a whole.”

“Or weaknesses.” Des murmured, her negative thinking crashing in on the newfound mood in the room that was becoming lighter.

It wasn’t until long when Lucas came in, checking up on the Islers, and the few of them began demanding for him to grant them one wish. He was against it at first but with some convincing, he finally asked what was needed. They requested the device that scanned the back of their necks, wanting to learn what they were known as to WCKD. He left then came back, picking out the Islers at random for checking.

He started with Chloe. “You’re Subject C-three. The _Harmony_.”

She warmly smiles. “That doesn’t sound bad at all. I’m kinda relieved.” A pause. “Jess, what does it mean?”

“Well, harmony is the musical soundings that are produced by chords but I’m thinking they meant the other meaning of the word.”

“Which is?”  
“Agreement. Synonyms of it are peace, understanding, cooperation, friendship, fellowship . . . Basically saying you’re a balance person.”

Micky grinned, leaning towards Hayley who was on her right. “Watch Jess be Know-It-All-Lindsay.”

Lucas moved onto Cass, scanning her. “Subject C-sixteen. The _Paradox_.” He huffs. “That’s kinda a rough one.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” Her brown eyes travel up to meet Lucas’s.

“Paradox is a contradiction—something like a statement that’s completely absurd that when it’s explained, it’s proved to be true. An example would be the saying from Oscar Wilde, ‘I can resist anything but temptation’.”

“So WCKD says that I’m weird, but right?”

“More like saying that no matter how you seem, it doesn’t show what you really are underneath.”

Cass lowers her head, thinking about it while Lucas continued on through Sarah, Bridge, Mads, Charlie, Amirah, and Jess. In order, they were known as the _Expendable_ , the _Repel_ , the _Feeble_ , the _Lost_ , the _Vigorous_ , and the _Strategist_. Hardly no one was surprised at Jess’s but for everyone else, they didn’t have good sounding names especially Sarah. It was concerning and made her very anxious, even more so when Lucas told her what it meant.

Going on around, Hayley was Subject C-eight, the _Liaise_. The title was different from others since it was verb, meaning to work together. Some theorized that maybe it was because she easily made friends and was kind hearted; seemed like the only reasonable explanation.

Micky was Subject C-fourteen, the _Vixen_ . The name of a female fox or a spiteful woman. Sasha was Subject C-twenty-four, the _Excused_ . Dean had Subject C-eighteen, named the _Generous_ , and for Carlos, he was marked with Subject C-twenty, named the _Troubled_.

It was then Lina’s turn, getting scanned and Lucas read, “Subject C-eleven, the _Light_.”

“The _Light_. Of course, she gets the cutest name to match that little oval chubby face of hers.” Quinn cracks a smile a bit, resting back against the one wooden support beam they were by when Lucas moves to them, getting the device ready to read the tag. They tilt her head downwards, feeling the warmth of the laser going up their neck; a tinkering nose being emitted.

“Subject C-twelve, the _Spark_.”

“ _Spark_ ,” Quinn tests the word out for themselves, “I can totally see where they would’ve gotten that name from.”

Lucas then went over to the right, gently smiling at Sapph as he scanned her. “Subject C-five, the _Omission_.”

The Islers instantly lowered their heads at the mention of the word. They may have not known what it meant but it sounded horrible; a tad sadistic. Sapph furrowed her brow, slightly confused. “What does omission mean?”

“It’s uh,” Lucas cleared his throat, “It’s when, uh, something or someone has been left out . . like excluded. Not thought of.”

“Oh,” that was the only thing that left the young child’s mouth and nothing more.

Owe was next in line, “Subject C-seven, known as the _Incentive_.”

“Motivation.” James ringed aloud, getting a few caught by surprise.

Des looked to him, “Or a payment to stimulate a greater output . . . Since that’s the other definition.”

Lucas travels to Anne, gently pressing on the back of her head to expose her neck and scanned. “Subject C-two, and they called you the _Anchor_.”

Anne blinks repeatedly. “Why would I be an _Anchor_?”

Ky gently smiles to her. “You keep us grounded.” Anne’s cheeks bloomed to a light pink and she jokingly nudges Ky, turning away bashfully till the heat in her face went down.

As Lucas drew closer to Ky, he nervously fumbled with the device, his attitude completely changing once he side swept her long brown hair off to the left. Sweat on his brow showed visibly, already beginning to roll down the one side as he focused closely. With the press of the button, the red light hits its mark, reading the tag with a chime. His eyelids shut, feeling the dread reeling in and laying on top of his body like a cloak.

The scanner ended and slowly, he peeled his eyes open, reading what the screen said. He keeps quiet, taking a few steps back, trying to figure it out for himself. Lucas was caught up in it so much that he didn’t hear any of the Islers asking him what it read—not until Ky herself spoke.

“Lucas? What’s it say about me?”

“Subject C-one . . . the _Creator._ ”

“ _Creator_?” Hayley looks to Ky. “Of what, exactly?”

She shrugs, completely bewildered. “I don’t . . I don’t know? I hardly remember anything, Hayley. And I’m sure not going to ask WCKD why they gave me the name.”

“It’s suspicious, Ky.” Sarah sassed almost immediately, “You were the second person to enter our Isle in the Cube, you used to sneak out late at nights into the Labyrinth, you were in there for two years and so many months before you just miraculously found a way out that was under the water all along. Then, you got fogged by a Harbinger, passing out in a coma for two days that Bia told us was called the Preserve where you remember bits and pieces of your life from before.”

She huffs, taking a minute to compose herself  and gather some air into her lungs before continuing on.

“Not to forget, WCKD called your name in a lineup and you were placed in some experimenting room with hanging bodies”—upon that fact, Lucas instantly snapped his attention from the girl straight to Ky—“You know more than us at this very time and place, and now, we learned that WCKD named you the _Creator_. Seems very, very concerning if I’m being honest.”

Ky nodded. “Can’t argue with you there.”

“Scan me.” James offers up directly after what Ky said, him having been working on the tape behind his back; the stickiness becoming less and less useful which granted him enough room to slip his hand out halfway before it tightened from constriction.

Lucas went on the other side of Ky, bending over and with a quick swipe, the screen flashed with the boy’s picture and the other information. His eyes scan over before gazing down on James, already seeing that he was returning the stare.

“Subject C-twenty-two, the _Mer—_.”

In a quick move, James got his hands free, pressing himself forwards and tackled Lucas back on the ground from the knees. The device gets knocked from his hand, scattering across the wooden floorboards and lands over somewhere in a darken corner where the moon’s light didn’t shine.

With the attack that James made, Quinn shifted their feet up by Mads, telling her to turn and reach in to feel for their one knife that they stored away in there. It took a few seconds but Mads finally got it and with situating around, she began cutting away at Quinn’s bounded hands. Shortly, Quinn’s hands were free and they could took the knife from Mads, freeing their ankles then moved onto her and the others who then ran to grab their knives and began working.

“Listen, this is the plan,” James spoke out to everyone but mostly Lucas. “We’re going to go free, get Sapph some help from somewhere nearby, and we’re heading straight for Right Arm.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Lucas mumbled from underneath James who was pinning his arms down and basically sitting sideways on his lap due to his feet still tied up. “I’m on your guys's side.”

“And why would we believe that? You tied us up in here!” Quinn remarked, readying their knife to ‘persuade’ him into letting them go and out of the building unnoticed.

Ky was freed by Des and scurried over to where she had seen the device disappear to, finding it with ease and eyed the screen to read what James’s subject name was. Lucas made a yelp which made her shake her thoughts, running over, and lifted the back of his head, lowering his hood and seen an actual black outlined tattoo on him. A small box in the middle of four dots and three lines on either vertical side. She scans it, and the device makes the noise, letting her know that it was complete.

She looked it over, seeing his picture and a name that was completely different than Lucas. For a hot moment, Ky thought he lied to them about his name until she remembered Des saying that WCKD changed their names to something else.

 _This was his fake name. And his real name, the one he remembers is Lucas._ Ky mentally said to herself.

“What’s the verdict?” Quinn asks without looking away from the boy, holding the blade of their knife close to his throat.

“Subject D-one, the _Link_.” Ky announced and Quinn withdrew their blade, cutting James’s ankles free of the tape and he gets off the boy, helping him stand. “You escaped WCKD and now live here, with them? Or they holding you for ransom?”

“Nothing like that, no.” Lucas shakes his head, eyeing the girl who was about four inches shorter than him. “WCKD gave me my memory back, they thought that maybe with them, I could see their side of things and join them in finding a cure. I didn’t. I left and ou—I mean, my . . My dad, he found me and brought me here because he knew Jorge, he was friends with him.”

“And how long have you’ve been here, Luca?” James folds his arms, placing them in front of his chest.

“Two months.”

“And your dad,” Ky begins, “he never came back?”

Lucas shook his head. “No . . He was looking for others like me.”

“Kids who were in WCKD’s Trials?”

“Yeah.”

“So your friend, Jorge, why is he keeping us here?” Bia lugged her bag onto her shoulder after checking out Sapph with Jess to see how she was feeling. “Why the tying up?”

“We needed to make it look like we were going to sell you guys back to WCKD because he doesn’t want the others to know what Brenda and I know.”

“Who’s Brenda?” Anne questioned.

Quinn then chuckled a bit to blow off steam without getting angry. “Most importantly, what do you guys know that Jorge doesn’t want the others to know?”

Lucas studied the faces of every individual Isler before taking in a deep breath. “We have someone who knows how to find the Right Arm.”

From outside, there’s the sound of a helicopter whirring and a huge flash of white light that was scanning the building. The Islers all ducked down, afraid that they would’ve been seen by the light and hid behind beams and cargo boxes that were in the room.

Chloe is flabbergasted. “I thought you said Jorge wasn’t going to sell us back to WCKD?!” She shouts over the noise.

“He isn’t!” Lucas calls back. “It must’ve been Barkley! That Nitwit, I swear!”

 _“Good evening!”_ The helicopter speaker booms, the person speaking being Janson. _“This is the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. We have your compound completely surrounded. You find yourselves, through no fault of your own, in possession of WCKD property.”_

Lucas makes way for the door, “Everyone stay here! I’ll go get Jorge! He’ll have a plan!” Before anyone could object, he left through the doorway, leaving the door wide open.

_“Return them to us unharmed and we’ll consider this a simple misunderstanding. Or you can resist and every last one of you will die. It won’t be long before the Flare wipes out the rest of us!”_

With that one simple sentence, Ky searches around, eyes landing on Sapph who was coughing more harshly; her body and shoulder moving every time as she did. Owe stayed near and dear to her, rubbing her back to keep her relaxed and not overworked.

_“The hope of a cure lies in your hands. The choice is yours.”_

The light moves away and James shouts, “Everyone, move! Move!”

There was no second doubts; the Islers got their things and ran for the door, exiting out of the room and running around to the one side of the facility to go and head down the stairs. Down in front, Jess witnessed the man Barkley heading up with a gun and she hurried, spinning back around and told them all that he was coming and that they needed to hide fast.

“There’s nowhere to hide!” Hayley loudly whispered.

James spotted the other set of stairs that led up to the floor with Dean, the both of them suggesting to head that way for good measure and they ran with it. All twenty-three Islers rush against the metal that was under their boots, skipping steps in running to make faster dashes, lunging up the steps. Sapph ended up tripping, falling down with a thud and whimpered. Owe twisted his body around at the sound, shuffling back to where she was and picked her up.

On the floor where they were before they were tied up, Lucas runs up on them, stunned at first. “I thought I told you guys to stay down in the room?”  
“Well, if we had, that dude Barkley would’ve shot us all.”

“Shot?” A raspy female voice pipes up and a young Latina girl who was probably around eighteen with short dark hair cut close to her head. “Oh, dammit.” She draws out a gun, cocking it and heading straight down the steps.

“Guessin’ that’s Brenda.” Quinn says.

Lucas nods in a quick manner. “Okay, you guys, you need to come and follow me, now. You have to trust me, Brenda, and Jorge.”

“And why should we?” Des knits her brows, acting as the protector of the group, standing in front.

“Because, if you want out of here, you’ll need a guide. And I really don’t want to go back to WCKD. Not after what had happened to me.”

Lina studies him, noticing that he seemed to be shaking from being anxious. “We can trust him. Okay? I believe we can.”

“Believing isn't seeing, Lina.” Bia pipes up.

“Yeah, but seeing is believing. Look at him, he's just as worried as us. No one with bad intentions would be that concerned.”

Lucas smiles, grateful for her words. "You guys can trust me, okay? I'll get you out with Brenda and Jorge. Let's go! Brenda's getting the other group that Bark—”

“Wait,” Ky mumbles, “what you mean by ‘other group’?”

From downstairs, the echo of a gunshot goes off which startled them all and Lucas huffed, running over to a control box, opening it up to show a few labeled levers. One of them was marked as leashes and Lucas grabbed the handle, pulling it downwards. With that small act, it released all the chained up Cranks that protected the entrances of the compound. Lucas could only imagine it now; them all running, charging, and leaping onto the WCKD guards, tearing at their flesh since they’ve been starved for a good few weeks.

“Come on, we don’t have time. Let’s go!” Lucas shouts, running off ahead and the group followed.

They ran, and ran but sometimes had to pause from Sapph tripping from coughing and not feeling well. From outside, more lights shone in through the dirty glass windows and there was sounds of aircrafts flying in and enclosing the area. Owe began feeling like a mouse that got stuck in a preheating oven but that feeling vanished once a random song began playing over on speakers within the building.

Up another flight of steps, the Islers and Lucas spotted Jorge packing up a bag while he stood by a record machine that was playing a vinyl track. He glances over, seeing the boy and the other teenagers; eyes ever so slowly glazing over Ky since Lucas told him about her.

A grin appears on his face. “You ready, hermano?”

“Been ready for a while.” Lucas responds, fetching his bag.

Owe held Sapph’s hand tightly, crouching down to her height, pressing a smile on his face as he brushed back her messy hair with his fingers. “How you doing, sweet pea?”

“I don’t feel so good.” She silently cried, holding her head. “My head really hurts, Owe. I want the pain to go away.”

“Hold on a little while longer, okay? Can you do that?” Sapph nods slowly, taking in a sobbing inhale as her head began throbbing. Owe gently rested his hand on the back of her head, leaning in and planted a small kiss on her warm head in a family friendly way.

The stairs squeak, warning that Brenda had showed up with another group of teenagers that the Islers remembered from the Scorch Facility’s cafeteria. The Asian, the lanky blond, a bigger built African American, Thomas, Aris, and a girl that they remembered seeing strolling alongside with Des on the first day they showed up. Thomas had called her Teresa, Ky remembered that part.

“Brenda! Good, you’re here! We need to hurry. Let’s go!” Jorge waves the two groups to follow in pursuit. He leads them to a huge bay window doors, standing in front of pressing them open to reveal a zipline that traveled from the point that they were at across to another building that had the side of it torn off in rubble. “Right this way!”

The African American boy eyed it, eyes going big. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me.”

“Plan B, hermano.” Jorge remarks, tugging down on a strap that was attached to the zipline. “These guys want you bad. Lucky for you, they’re not the only ones.”

“Right Arm?” Thomas inquires.  
He nods. “You kids wanna get to the Right Arm? I’ll lead you to them. But you’re gonna owe me.” He then holds out the strap to Thomas, Bia, Chloe, and the Asian boy. “Come on. Let’s go.”

The Asian boy scoffed. “You first, _hermano_.” He retorts, being snarky.

Jorge smirks with a chuckle. “You kids really need to learn how to trust people.” He then hooks himself up to the strap, running off and jump at the last second. He glides with ease down the zip. “Follow me!”

The teenagers all watched him travel down, making it to the other building and Brenda pulled down another strap for them. “Alright! Let’s go!”

“Go. Go, go. Go!” Thomas urges the one Asian boy on. “Go, Minho. Go!” Minho reaches out, taking it in his grasp and did the same as Jorge; ran then jumped off to get momentum. “Okay, Aris! Go!” The small boy then went.

Bia then took over. “Okay, wait a second. Some of us should get to go as well. Not just your group. There’s more of us.”

Thomas nods to her. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Sorry. Three of yours can go then Newt, Fry, and four others of yours.”

“Deal.”

Mads, Hayley, Chloe were the first Islers to go on the zip, making it across. The boys Newt and Fry then went and Dean, Carlos, Sarah, and Samuel. One after another, they went zooming through the air, stopping with an enormous blow since there was no cushions for the stopping. The music of Jorge’s kept playing, making things seem not so much frightening but it quickly turned direction once Ky heard James and Owe shouting loud. She whips around seeing what was going on and noticed that there was black goo on the floor boards and Owe was running out of the room with James following after. She frowned, eyes scanning to see that Sapph was nowhere in sight.

“Hey!” She rushes after, seeing James going on the one flight of stairs then another. Ky leans over the railing. “James, what’s happening?!”  
“Sapph dropped her necklace!” He shouts up at her before hurtling over steps. “She went back to get it!”

From behind Ky, she heard feet moving and thought it was a WCKD guard which made her tense. She spun around to see Micky, Anne, Quinn, and Bia all there. They were all wondering what was going on and Ky told them.

“So what we waiting for? We should be helping them.” Micky begins heading down and Bia goes with, leaving Quinn, Anne, and Ky all by themselves.

Quinn looks to the two girls. “Guys, Sapph’s not going to be able to make that zipline with how she is. And zipping with two people is completely out of the question . . . So what are we going to do?”

“We’ll find another way out.” Ky states.

“And if there isn’t one?”

“Guys!” James yells in distress from below and they all darted down the steps, rushing to where his voice was coming from and stopped once the scene was unfolded in front of them.

 

The sky was dark but from where Sapph was, she could see the brightest star in the sky which made her lips curve into a small smile despite the swelling pain that was inside of her, bubbling. Focusing on that bright, little star melted away her fear of her untimely death as she rested on the top of the staircase.

Sapph had grabbed her pendant that she seemed important, seeing Owe at the head of the steps, his hand reaching out for hers. She went to go, grab for it but her arm began shaking uncontrollably, her body seemingly trying to shut down. Her lungs tightened as she felt this warm substance in her throat and when they expanded, more black goop spewed from her mouth and onto the steps. Some of it landed on Owe’s clothes but he didn’t care, he only worried about Sapph. He moved forwards as her body lost the ability to stand on its own, grabbing her and brought her to the top of the steps; setting her up against the one railing and held her free hand tight.

That’s how she ended up where she was and James had called for the others to come down because he knew what this meant. He knew that it was time to have their goodbyes.

“Sapph, can you hear me?” Owe sniffled, tears slowly welling up in his eyes. “Sapph?”

“Do you think the stars are pretty?” She pauses. “When they glow in the night sky, they look beautiful even though all they are are just burning balls of gas . . . They’re bursting but they do it so wonderfully before they burn out forever. But there’s never no worry, the atoms go and give life to some other thing in the universe, becoming beautiful all over again. Maybe we were once stars . . . And maybe, when our time comes and the universe sings us a lullaby, we’ll go back to being stars.”

The seven surrounding Islers all felt her heart break in that very moment, witnessing a child being in unfathomable ache and sounding wiser than any of them ever had. Fades of Brenda and Lucas’s yells in the back couldn’t even bring them out of this heartbreaking trance they were in. They all felt in certain ways and it matched their personalities very well; almost too well if some were being honest.

Micky was quiet, witnessing all that was happening and being sad. Ky on the other hand, she felt herself getting worked up, not wanting to hear anymore but didn’t want to leave Sapph alone. Quinn had their fists balled up, whispering to Anne that the whole thing was unfair while Anne was saying that if they knew things sooner, then maybe something different would’ve be different. Owe still clung to Sapph’s tiny hand, not wanting to let go but knew that he would need too when it got to it. Bia was already listing things in her head for what they needed to do while James sat back, listening to the little girl that he came to care for like his own sister.

Sapph whimpers, shaking her head and began crying even more. “I can’t-I can’t take it. I just want it to stop hurting.” Tears spill down her cheeks, falling like the harsh rain that used to pumble into the earthy sand of the Isle. “I feel my brain trying to go against me . . I feel it in my brain, I feel it, Owe. It’s cold, and slimy, I want to yell, I want to scream . . I want to throw something but I don’t because I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt any of you.”

Bia bites her bottom lip. “Ok-ay.” Her voice cracks. “Ky, you still have that gun on you?”

A tear falls from Ky’s left eye as she slowly turns to Bia, sniffling. “What?”

“The gun. We don’t have much time. WCKD is coming, and we need to go, and Sapph can’t continue on anymore so there’s only one thing left to do.”

“Bia,” Ky stands her ground, announcing loudly with a booming voice that wavered from her sadness, “We Are. Not. Murderers.”

“Then what the hell does that make us if we let a kid go through that!” Bia yelled back, Ky keeping her mouth shut as she just felt her bottom lip quiver. “What does that make us, Ky?! Answer me.”

“I don't know!”

“I'll tell you who. WCKD.” She huffs. “If we let her go through this, let her suffer . . . We're no better than them sitting behind their computer screens and having watched kids die in those mazes.” Bia shakes her head. “And doing this, for Sapph, it doesn’t make us monsters. It makes us the people that can end her suffering before she loses her humanity and becomes one of those Cranks.”

“This is wrong.” Ky cried, taking a look at Sapph then to Bia. “We’re just kids . . . Sapph is just a kid.”

“All the more reason.” Bia replies firmly, trying to hold back her tears to appear strong as their leader. As their monarch. “I’ll do it. So no one has to carry the burden.”

She holds her hand out, waiting for the revolver and Ky slowly moved off her pack, opening up the big pouch and pulled it out. There was a moment of hesitation but once it passed, she handed it to Bia who checked it to make sure it was loaded.

“O-Owe?” Sapph coughed, more of the liquid drooling out and down her chin and onto her shirt. He leans in close so she didn’t need to speak loudly, positioning his ear close to her black and blue lips. She whispers, “Remember what I told you about moments. Sometimes . . You have to do the right thing even if it doesn’t feel like the perfect timing because if you just wait, it’ll never come.”

“Yeah.” He nods, the color of his eyes getting lighter from the tears. “I will. It’s strange . . . I only met you a week ago and it feels like I’d known you longer.”

“We were probably made from the same star.” She smiles through her pain, wanting him to remember her being happy even if she was in agony and didn’t look worth a million dollars. Owe gave her forehead one final kiss, standing up and moved to where Micky was standing.

Quinn went next, kneeling down in front of Sapph and they didn’t even bother covering up their rage. Frustrated, they exhaled deeply, glancing down at the bracelet Sapph made them before they left the Isle. “It’s not fair. WCKD said we were all Immune . . . They lied to us. Gave us all false hope. We should’ve protected you more. Knew something was up, instead of you being like this.”

“If I hadn’t done what I did, Bia wouldn’t be with us.” Sapph croaked, gulping down the pitiful lump in her throat.

Quinn’s expression hardened, turning scarlet from the fumes of anguish; eyes becoming glassy. “It shouldn’t have been you—you deserve to stay with us.”

“And I will. I’m not going anywhere, the universe can never get rid of me. Not completely. I’ll be apart of the wind that blows during cold days, the rain that falls to bless the flowers in order to grow, the golden rays of the sun that warms your skin . . I’ll be all of those things. Surrounding you forever.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you soon.”

Quinn gets up and Anne goes next, their conversation being relatively calm and serene which gave the Sapph the peace that she needed. It diminished when Brenda’s yells called out again, warning the Islers that time was running out and that there was only a few straps left for the zipline. Anne moves away and Micky then quickly goes for her goodbye, Barton jumping from her pack and used his one big ear to act as a napkin to wipe away the black liquid that covered Sapph’s mouth.

James kneeled, whispering into Sapph’s ear and she nodded weakly, mouthing something that they couldn’t quite make out. He nods and, he too, places a kiss on top of the young misfit’s head before standing again and joined Owe’s side. Micky and Barton began heading back up the stairs as the sounds of WCKD guards were drawing in, searching around for them all. Anne and Quinn walk behind.

“Ky?” Sapph coughs out and she eyes the young one, getting down besides her. She held out her shaky hand and placed her necklace into Ky’s hand, making her fingers enclose on it tightly. “G-Give it to Owe when he’s ready.”

“‘Ready’?”

Sapph nods. “You’ll know when. You usually do.” She then winced, grunting in torment. That’s when Ky seen that the blackened veins that were once on her shoulder had traveled up and into her neck, branching out like a tree with no leaves, and they moved ever so silently whenever her heart gave a pulse of life to her body.

“I’m so sorry.” Ky muttered, one of her tears falling onto Sapph’s outstretched hand.

“Don’t be. I’m just going to be something far more greater than what I already am. What I was.” She teases, laughing with genuine happiness. “Maybe I’ll be a cuttlefish, or a butterfly . . . Maybe I’ll become a part of you.”

“Yeah . . Maybe.” She returns the smile though it was failing as her bottom lip was wiggling.

“Watch out for me in the sky . . I just might make myself become a star once more. To shine bright in the dark.”

Ky sniffled, nodding, and bid her a farewell. Extending herself upwards, Bia cocks the pin back, loading the chamber. “You guys get to the zipline. Now. That’s an order.”

James placed an arm around Owe, having him turn away to not face what was going to happen and made them go up the staircase. With one last look at a small innocent child and the person who was granting her release from her internal suffering, Ky joins the boys in leaving.

The three of them travel up the steps, their pace nip yet timid. At the top, making it to the attic space, that’s when they heard the gun go off. Owe’s steps instantly became slow, shaky, and James automatically knew where this was heading. He stepped in front of Owe, giving him a hug and Owe fought against his body, shouting and crying over the fact that the deed had been done. The universe had sung Sapph asleep. 

James lowered them down to the floor, holding Owe in his arms as the boy cried into his chest. Owe was his bestest friend and James hated this, hated seeing his friend so hurt and so damaged. It almost unfair. Owe was the sensitive, James was the rock. Owe had feelings that he liked to keep as a secret whereas James expressed his. Owe was heads, James as tails. Both were two sides of the same coin except whenever someone flipped the coin, it always landed on Owe. He got the blows and James was safe, unharmed. It was uncalled for then yet, James never really had much to lose.

“Guys!” Brenda runs out and over with Thomas. “Everyone okay?”

“We’re fine.” James nods.

Thomas glances to Ky for a good minutes before looking around again. “Where’s the little girl? And the blonde?”

“Sapph, she . . She’s gone.” Owe wiped his eyes, breathing heavy as he composed himself since the situation was now getting intense. “We had to deal with it.”

“I’m sorry, and I know that you’re in a vulnerable state but right now, we need to get a move on it.” Brenda remarks, looking down at him before offering a hand to help him up.

Down below, more gun shots go off and there’s the metal clanking of jingles coming from the stairs. Brenda withdraws her gun, aiming, waiting for the guards of WCKD but it was only Bia.

She raises her hands, showing that she wasn’t a threat. “I shot a few guards down there! But there’s a swarm coming.”

“All the more reason for us to go!” Thomas urges them. “Come on!”

The six of them round the one corner, weaving through the shelves and go back to the zipline, seeing that that there was only two straps left.

“Shit!” Brenda swears, yanking one down. “Okay, a few of us are going to need to go out the other way. So which two of you want to join the others?”

“I’ll go. My group is over there, I can’t leave them with strangers. No offense.” Bia wraps the straps around her arms, making sure she was secured and jumped from the height.

Pulling down the other, she suggests offers it to Ky. “No . . . I can’t, I can’t do that.”

“You?” She looks to Thomas but he doesn’t say anything which makes her then eye Owe and James. “Which one of you?”

Being the bigger companion, physically and age wise, James grabbed onto the strap and glanced to Owe and Ky. “See you guys on the other side.” He then runs off, whizzing through the air and Ky could’ve sworn that she spotted a smirk before he did.

“Over here!” The four turned, seeing the guards and Brenda began shooting at them while they took cover.

“Go! Go!” Brenda yells to them, pressing on Thomas’s back.

They began running  in the back behind a small glass wall, each one ducking down at the WCKD guards were shooting their guns at them. Brenda runs up in front, rushing as she jumped over a wooden table and took a left, running out into where the metal beams of the ceiling were. Owe was behind her, Thomas, then Ky was last from having stopped running, hearing that the song from the record was still playing. It came to her as a shock since her mind just completely ignored it for the last two minutes.

“Come on, hurry! We’re running out of time!” Brenda yells, shuffling down a small flight of stairs. At the bottom, she froze from seeing more guards coming around to the front of them. She then glanced to her right, getting an idea. “Here, follow me!”

She steps over a chain that acted as a barrier for the side, traipsing across the metal planks that hovered a sixty foot drop. Owe did the same as her while Thomas and Ky both stayed back, unsure about the whole thing until a guard got close to them. He made sure that Ky went first.

They all were nimble, making progress and for Ky, it wasn’t as scary as she thought. The planks they were strolling across was a foot in seven inches in width which gave some sturdy ground for her.

“Shit!” Thomas shouts out as if it’d help him from not falling while he fasten his pace.

Brenda makes it to the end, climbing over a small wall and looked back at Owe, Ky, and Thomas. Behind Thomas, a guard followed after them on the beams, readying his Launcher. It makes him stop, slowly rotating to face the man. Ky stops too.

“Kid, don’t move!” The guard yells.

“Brenda, where we going?!” Thomas turns to face her, almost caught sight of Owe making it to where she was; her helping him to climb over.

“Hurry! The song’s almost over!”

“What happens when it’s over?!” Ky shouts, doing her best with resuming her walk with Thomas.

The melody of the song fades out and from under her sparks being lighting up, then what sounds like giant bombs goes off, all of them collecting together and resulting in a one major explosion that rockets the whole building. Ky loses footing, stumbling and lets out a terrified scream but Thomas catches her just in time from falling as they make it to the end. They both watch as the orange fire mounts up, raising high over where they were before; blowing out the top of the ceiling with such an incredible force that even the glass windows shatter.

Everything then goes still quiet. “Come on.” Brenda grunts.

That’s when Ky heard it; metal whining before it began crashing in on top of each other like the domino effect. The scaffoldings, beams, ceiling, shelves; all of it was coming down in a fury.

“Ky, hurry!”

“Thomas, come on!”

Owe and Brenda both scream for their friends.

Thomas helps with Ky, pressing her over the wall and he goes as well. The four begin running again but it changes as the whole compound shifted to the left, making Owe trip over his own two feet. Brenda helps him up and hot on their trail, the building begins falling faster, debris and dust flying all over the place.

Ahead of them, there was an old elevator shaft that just had two wires in it which make Owe worried about how they were going to do this. Brenda just yells “jump!” with no context or clue on how four people were going to escape the concaving structure. But then, it’d be better to be alive and injured then not at all.

Ky shoved Sapph’s necklace into her pants pocket, readying her hands for the grab as Brenda and Owe jumped first since they were closer, sliding down into the pit of the shaft and then, she and Thomas went five seconds after. She gripped onto the wire, sliding down at a high velocity. They come to a stop at the bottom, glancing up to see rubble coming in after them and quickly jumped out where Owe and Brenda were as it crashed down.

All four hunkered, covering their heads as the mess clogged out the light from above, dirt filled the air, making things hard to see and remains of what used to be the building that they stood in flew all around them.


	12. PART 2, CHAPTER 6: Communion

A flashlight is turned on, the blue light radiating through the pitch black that surrounded them like a mask on the eyes. Coughs and grunts sound, the dust tickling the back of their throats and being stuffed into their lungs which wasn’t a very pleasant thing to have.

“Everyone okay?” Brenda asks, getting out a few more flashlights for the three, passing them out.

“Yeah, great.” Thomas grumbles, sitting himself up and checked in on Ky to see if she was alright before he turned on his light, looking back at the shaft that was now blocked with rock, metal, and other materials. “No, no. How are we gonna get back to the others?”

“Relax. I'm gonna get us out of here.” Brenda gets herself up, handing Owe his flashlight to use.

Thomas helps Ky up onto her feet, coughing into his arm and watches as Brenda wandered over to another area in the room that they were in. “Why are you helping us?”

“Trust me, it's not my idea. Jorge and Lucas seems to think you guys are our ticket to the safe haven.”

“The what?” Thomas questions.

“You know, paradise. Safe from the sun, free of infection. Supposedly, the Right Arm's been taking kids there for years. Immunes, anyway.”

“What about the people who aren’t Immune?” Ky asks.

“They’re left behind. They can’t risk infection.”

She thought about it for a moment. “But that makes no sense. If they’re all Immune, and someone turns, it’s not like they’ll get infected as well.”

Brenda gives her a deadpan expression. “Your friend, back there, the one that your other friend had to take out of misery . . . That was a hard thing you had to deal with, yeah? Now, imagine that in a place where it’s meant to be safe. A place where you can all start over with a clean slate. You can’t have an non-Immune there.”

Ky frowned, her right hand snaking down into her pants pocket, feeling the outline of Sapph’s necklace and closed her eyes to remember her sweet, innocent smile and laughter. It truly was the most heartbroken that she had ever been, but not felt. That was a far more worse story. One she’d never want to share.

“And this paradise, you know where that is?” Thomas walks off after Brenda and Owe and Ky follow, shining their lights all around the room to see old knick knacks, tables, and vases that were covered in heaps of dust.

“No. But Jorge knows a guy. Marcus. He used to smuggle kids up into the mountains.” She then pauses, spotting a wooden crate laying on top of a metal gate that was in the ground, rushing over and taking it off. “If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends.”

She began trying to lift the metal cover up, having a difficult time so Owe went on over, going on the other side to help while Thomas and Ky just stood on the side, spectating.

“If he made it out?” Thomas retorts.

Brenda sighs, rolling her eyes. “You ask a lot of questions unlike these two.” She motions to Owe and Ky. “Can you just come over here and help us with this? Please.”

Thomas slowly takes a gander to Ky, not saying anything and squats down next to Owe, grabbing the grille and all three of them began lifting with grunts. With all of their efforts combining as one, they shifted the grate over and rest it on its side behind them. Ky kneels, aiming her flashlight down into the tunnel that was below. She heard drops of running water and something that sounded like a barn owl’s coo; chilling, beautiful, and yet, sinister. But it wasn’t a barn owl, Ky knew that. Brenda did too, just like the boys.

“That doesn’t sound too welcoming.” Owe finally speaks, his eyes narrowing in on the pit that awaited their arrival.

“Yeah. Down here they'll be full term.” Brenda whispers with a nod. “Let's go.” She hurries, jumping down into the hole and Ky looks to Owe and Thomas who offer for her to go first. Ky goes right ahead, landing down next to Brenda as she ducks down and makes way through a circle shaped passage.

Owe and Thomas go after the girls, their flashlights scanning the perimeter once they drop down into a lower level of tunnels. A noise comes from the right and Brenda starts walking towards it. “I think it's this way.”

“Hopefully she knows where she’s going.” Owe exhales, peering down at Ky.

“Maybe she does.” She shrugs. They continue going.

It had been about an hour and six minutes of silent walking other from the drips of water that echoed throughout the dark tunnels. Thomas and Brenda were up in front whereas Owe and Ky were in the back, spotting writings on the walls as well as green patches of something that looked to be slimy. Ky had teased that if Jess was with them, she’d tell them that it was some scientific thing and how she found it fascinating. Owe then mentioned that if Quinn was with them, they’d already be sizing up Brenda to have a fight since they were kinda like twins in the way that they built and how their attitudes matched up perfectly.

They made a left, a right, and another left, coming around a corner. Thomas leans over to Brenda, whispering but his voice is loud enough for Ky and Owe to pick up on what he was saying. “Do people live down here?”

“The Solar Storms forced people underground. Jorge says there’s settlements all over these tunnels.”

“So, what about Jorge? Is he your father?”

“Close enough. Truth is, I don't really know what he is. He's just always been there. And I've always done what he's asked me to do, no matter how stupid.” Brenda states, her pace getting increasingly faster.

“So you don't think the Right Arm is real?”

From behind them, there was a distant screech that made them all stop and turn for a brief moment. Owe already felt his heart beating fast and began taking in gulps of air, focusing on his breathing which was a crucial thing for him.

“I think . . .” Brenda begins, turning back around and the others do as well. “Hope is a dangerous thing.” A pause. “Hope has killed more of my friends than the Flare and the Scorch combined. Just thought Jorge was smarter than that.” Up ahead there was a fork in the tunnel, three different passage ways to go. The four halt. “Damn.”

“Why don’t we split search?” Ky suggests. “Each one of us glances down the way and if we see anything that might be the way out, we just notify one another.”

Thomas nods to her, going down the left passage and Brenda went down the right that was on the right side whereas Owe began going to the one that was next to Brenda’s. Ky stood where she was, darting back every so often from feeling like something was near but never spotted anything. It went silent for a few seconds until she heard Thomas speak.

“Hey, guys. I think it may be this way.”

“Why’s that?” Ky wanders over, standing next to him and peered down to see daylight at the end. “It’s morning already?”

“I’m guessing, yeah.” He nods. “Where’s Brenda? And your friend?”

Ky then looked around. “Owe?” She calls out. “Owe? Brenda?”

“We’re over here.” Owe remarks in a husked murmur.

“You guys gotta come look at this.” Brenda then adds. Thomas and Ky take their time, making way over down the hall to where their friends were, noticing what they were inspecting.

On the right side wall, there was black gooey vines that were sprawled out all over. Ky then turned her hand that held the flashlight, seeing how there was a whole lot more on the other walls and even the ceiling. She roamed up to a patch that branched out from the wall, touching it to feel that it felt like rough skin with an abnormal squishiness yet hard shell to it.

“What the hell is this?” Thomas glances up at the ceiling.

“Is it some type of fungus?” Owe inquires.

Ky shrugs, turning her attention away from the walls and spotted a few dead bodies laying on the ground, against the walls that were covered in the vines. Actually, it looks like the veins came from their bodies, attaching themselves to the wall and spread out all over.

A squeal erupts which has the four turning, focusing on the small circular tunnel that was right next to Brenda. There was a small rat, squeaking, glancing up at the four and Brenda exhales sharply. Ky found herself slowly smiling, relieved to see a small tiny animal despite it having some white substance in its tear ducts and on the corner of its mouth. The rat takes a step, stumbling down out of the tunnel, and squeaks as it gallops by Brenda’s boot. She then kicks it, making it tumble and squeak in pain.

“Jesus.” She says in disgust.

“Was that necessary?” Ky asks. “It’s just a small rodent. Not like it’s going to harm us.”

“Looked to be infected. Besides, there’s no harm in being extra careful.”

Brenda did have a point but Ky still felt bad for the poor rat; it was probably hungry, sick, looking for food for itself or if there was a family to provide for. A _family_. Ky’s mind goes into one of its fits, an ache beginning to form in her left temple but she just shakes it off.

Thomas watches as the rat gallops over to the one wall, searching for something until an arm shoots out from nowhere, grabbing the small creature with a strike. Him, Brenda, Owe, and Ky all are shocked, gasping and move back a huge step while still watching as a Crank’s head is forcefully removed from the wall that it was stuck to. The Crank—who didn’t look like any of the others that Ky, Thomas, and Owe have seen before—eyes the rat before snarling its teeth and opening their mouth wide enough to bite off the rat’s head, chewing on it for a snack.

Another Crank, this one female, crackles with her voice and tries to stretch out from the mass of vines that had her trapped as well. Then there was another one that climbed out of one of the tubes from the wall, missing legs but still crawled with its arms. Two others came charging out from the one hall at the end, snarling, and making their awful noises as they ran for the Crank that was holding the rat; fighting over the remaining body to have to eat.

Owe whispers for them to run, whipping himself around to see a Crank right in front of him that was wobbling, reaching an arm out to him while snarling. Thomas reaches into Brenda’s bag that held a lead pipe, taking it out and ran right in front of Owe, whacking the Crank in the side of its head.

Ky instantly runs for it, Brenda going after but the boys stayed in the back, watching how the one that Thomas hit was in pain and screeched out which captured the attentions of the others. “Go, go. Go!” Thomas presses on Owe’s back, the two of them running while five Cranks were hot on their trail.

Brenda glanced back, seeing them all. “Oh, my, God!”

“Keep going!” Owe shouts.

They all began breathing heavily, running as fast as they could while they ran like the wind was carrying them. Thomas sped up, reaching Ky while Brenda was in the back with Owe who kept on wheezing and eventually fell into a roll. Brenda shouted, helping him up and pressed him forwards despite him telling her that he was in too much pain.

“Come on, we’re almost there!” Thomas yells back, seeing the Crank further away the more they gained speed.

The daylight was closer, more clear, and Ky could feel the warmth of the sun that she was desperately craved. It made her sprint, taking longer strides and once she came out into the sunlight, she didn’t bother to stop until it was too late. There was a ledge and her foot dipped off, her body about to crash down but Thomas hurried and grabbed the back of her jacket.

“Woah, woah, woah!” He yanked her back, holding her body in place as sand blew off from the cliff. The both of them peering down at the rocky fall that almost claimed Ky’s life as Owe and Brenda finally caught up, seeing it as well.

Owe slowly glanced over to the right, seeing a huge old building that had fallen and rested on top of another building that was across from the rocky trench, forming a bridge for them if only they traveled up and inside to do the transfer. And something told him that that was their only way of escaping.

From behind, the five Cranks were making their way closer and Brenda began climbing up the mounts of rocks, determined to reach the broken down building. “Come on! This way!”

“Ky, go!” Thomas guides her over, making her be right behind Brenda then he makes Owe go, him staying in the back to keep an eye all on his small group.

Climbing and dashing was difficult from the include, putting their bodies through a cycle of abuse. Ky’s knees were getting inflamed from the constant moving and her hands were getting raw from grabbing onto the rough rocks and cement slabs to try and climb. Brenda’s feet were throbbing since she hadn’t been on the run in a very long time, Thomas ankles were aching, and for Owe, his chest kept on feeling tight and his breathing ceased to exist as his lungs weren’t expanding enough for him to get a proper breath of air.

Thomas glances over his shoulder, seeing the group of Cranks rushing out and the one shoved two off the ledge, letting them fall in which only left three Cranks to deal with. They then spotted him, climbing up after. He continued on, getting up and into a small hole that granted him access into the building. Thomas’s eyes lingered up to where Ky, Brenda, and Owe was looking; seeing how it was going to be an obstacle course for the four of them.

“Okay.” Brenda nods. “We can do this.” She starts the climb, Ky right behind her, Owe, and like before, Thomas in the back. The Cranks then entered up in, snarling loudly and began climbing after Thomas who tried to speed up with his climbing ability.

Ky looked back and down, seeing them getting close to Thomas and worried for him. “Thomas!”

“Just keep going!” He assured her.

She nodded, going back and continued, stepping on an old metal desk and grabbed a metal beam, hoisting herself up and once she did, the desk became loose. It wiggled out of space, tumbling down the way. “Owe! Thomas! Watch out!” Ky screamed.

Owe hunkered down, the desk missing him and it went directly for Thomas but he moved out of the way quickly. The desk ripped right pass him, flying into the chest of one of the Cranks which made it fly back onto one of the huge glass windows. It busted through, sending the Crank and the desk down into the trench.

At the top, Brenda made it through another opening which led to a staircase and she turned back, lending out a hand to Ky and helped her in. Owe then came and Ky got him with Brenda’s help; his face was completely red, forehead felt warm, and the inside of his chest felt icy cold. His jeans that he wore were now cut open at the knees from when he fell, blood oozing from his kneecaps bit by bit.

Thomas then came up, the archway of the hole settles, breaking and raining dust down on his head. “You guys alright?”

“Yeah. Just waiting for you to show up.” Owe looks to the boy who must’ve been at least a year older than him and Ky.

Brenda darts up at the stairs, seeing how messed up and windy they had become over the years and from the slant of the building being placed on the other one. She takes in a deep breath. “Okay, come on!”

They all start back up again, going in the same order as before. Brenda in the lead, Ky following, Owe behind, and Thomas being the last one. It was a hard set up from the angle they were fighting gravity against, trying to climb the stairs that were makeshifted to their best potential but the Cranks made it hard. They showed up and instead of the one climbing like them, it began jumping at superhuman heights, catching up to them on the seventh level with little to no effort.

“Woah, woah!” Thomas shouts, backing up against the one wall as the Crank gnashed its teeth, batting at him until Owe brought back his foot and kicked the Crank in the face. The Crank let the railing go, falling back down to the lower level with a thud as the other was still making his rounds on the staircases.

Up on the flight above, Brenda was speeding up, determined to get to the top and for them to cross over into the other building and Ky’s knees were getting more hardened, her speed falling. She paused for a moment while Brenda rushed pass a push bar door, about to climb up and into the next flight of stairs. Ky took in a breath, glancing over the ledge to see Owe and Thomas making their way up and pressed on.

As soon as Ky got behind Brenda, she grabbed onto a metal pipe that broke off, sending her back into Ky. “Brenda!” She shouted, trying to catch her but since the door with the push bar was behind them, it didn’t work out so well.

Both girls fell into the room, sliding down the floor that was at a tilt. They yelled out as the boys ran up to the door, witnessing the both of them heading straight for a huge glass window. Ky and Brenda had came to a stop, hitting the window which didn’t budge but did, in fact, crack. Brenda landed over on the left, on her back, while Ky was on the right, landing on her front.

“Ky!”

“Brenda!”

The boys both shout down at them, seeing neither one of them moving.

“You girls okay?!” Thomas calls down.

“. . Yeah.” Brenda breathes slowly and deeply.

Ky opens her eyes lightly, carefully moving her head to see that she was resting on top of glass that was settled above a huge drop and the rocky trench that was below. Right then, her breathing became erratic and her body shaky. Ky absolutely hated heights with a passion; always afraid of falling and being out in the open air with nothing to save herself with. Then, of course, the huge complete and dreadful impact that awaited for ones body. It was a terrifying thing for her.

“Hang on, you two!” Thomas shouts. “Owe and I’ll find a way down!”

Her fingers sprawl out on the cool surface of the glass, testing it to see if it’ll support more weight and heard a small crack but it wasn’t coming from Ky, it came from Brenda who was already on the move to stand up even though the glass underneath her was crying out in web cracks.

“Brenda, don’t move! We’re coming!”

“Brenda,” Ky mumbled, nervous.

“Just move slowly.” She remarks. “Nice and steady.”

Ky nods, pressing her top half up from the glass to go into a sitting position with her legs straight out behind her. Once that was over with, she curled in her legs into her butt and shifted upwards to sit on her knees.

“Careful.” Brenda whispers, placing her feet out as her side of the glass began cracking more and more to the point that it sounded like it couldn’t even hold her anymore.

Thomas and Owe were climbing down, grabbing onto different items to steady themselves from clashing into the glass like how the girls did. Finally, they reached the bottom with Thomas over by Brenda and Owe by Ky.

Owe grabbed onto an old metal bar, making sure it was locked in place before reaching his arm down to Ky. “Come on, grab my hand.”

“I can’t . . .” Ky shook her head, still sitting on her knees.

“Ky, you can do this, okay. I know you can.”

She shook her head. “I’m scared.”

“I know you are. So am I.” Owe nods. “But I’m right here, alright? I’m right here. We'll do this together. All you have to do is get up and reach me. Please, Ky.”

Her hazel eyes wandering over, seeing Brenda reaching for Thomas and that gave her the confidence to do the same. Just like how Brenda said, she went calm and steady, placing her left leg up to her chest and pressed off of it, standing and straightening out her right leg. The glass made a noise, having her freeze in fear for a tiny moment.

“It’s okay.” Owe smiles, hoping it’ll relax her nerves. “Now, all you need to do is—”

The familiar snarling of a Crank signals from above and they looked, seeing the creature at the door and staring down Brenda who was in his direct line of sight. He let out another snarl, readying himself and took a step in, sliding down the floor.

“No, no! No!” Thomas hollers as the Crank collides into Brenda, sending her back into the glass which makes Ky lose her footing and fall down on the glass, watching her fight off the Crank.

“Brenda!” Ky yells, wanting to get up to move towards her but paused once she heard the glass splintering underneath her.

“Thomas!” Brenda screams, kicking the Crank off of her.

“You have to get to me!”

Brenda begins crawling on her hands and knees, trying to reach up at Thomas but her hand fell short. “I can’t reach!”

The Crank gets back up, grabbing Brenda by the leg and pulls her back towards him, roaring and brought down his fist right to the side of her head, cracking the glass even more which caused the splinter to travel over onto Ky’s side. “Owe! Thomas!” Ky cries out.

Owe instantly finds an old rusted pipe, picking it up and yells for Thomas’s attention. Once he notices him, he throws it over. Thomas catches it quick, focusing back on the girls. “Ky, reach for Owe! Brenda! Come here!”

Brenda fights the Crank, shoving him off and began crawling as fast as she could towards Thomas while the Crank followed. Ky does the same, scurrying as fast as she could since she knew that she wouldn’t make it in time. Brenda reaches Thomas, grabbing his hand while the Crank grabbed her one leg, biting it, causing her to scream. Thomas raises the pipe, bringing it down, smashing the glass while Ky had her hand raised and stretched out in hopes that it’d make it into Owe’s somehow. Her body drops causing her to let out a squeal but Owe catches her wrist with his right, his left still anchoring himself to the one metal bar.

Ky looked down below, seeing the Crank flailing in the air before becoming one with the jagged ground. With a grunt, Owe lifted her up and planted her on the side where he stood and Ky instantly went into his arms. Her breathing rapid just like her heartbeat but felt relief from being safe.

He holds her close, his arms wrapped around her. “I got you. You’re safe. I got you.” Owe whispers, resting his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes to try and control his wild beating heart.

 

A young picture of Ky from WCKD sits on the desk and Lee just eyes it for the longest time, wearing a headset that was connected to Linda’s one radio. He was turning the dials, trying to contact a friend that was somewhere out in the Scorch. Finally, he makes the connection, speaking into the microphone he had.

“Did you see her?”

Ramona walks pass the room, overhearing Lee and stepped back, glancing in to see him sitting at the one table where the ham radio was. She listened in, wondering who he was contacting.

“What do you mean you have no idea where she is?” Lee said, his voice becoming tense. “I only asked one thing of you. You had her but then lost her?”

There was a short few seconds of silence until he settles back, sighing and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I just wanted to keep my daughter safe.” He pauses for the longest time. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll head out now . . . Thanks.”

[Lee ](https://66.media.tumblr.com/3b06ea2e430141b3a03af44762f20fa1/tumblr_inline_p8r3vi0tZf1ricaxd_540.gif)unplugs his headphone from the radio, taking them off and kept quiet for a moment. “You miss her, don't you?” [Ramona](https://66.media.tumblr.com/8214c343c496da4267767e7f3dec6be5/tumblr_inline_p3e4myLJwq1qlt39u_250.gif) sneaks up from behind, peering over his shoulder to see that he was eyeing a picture of his daughter Carina that Linda had given him since she had a few files from her old job that she collected for potential candidates for the virus experimentation.

“Every second of every day.” His broken voice replies.

He felt a hand on his other shoulder, and he looked up to see Ramon giving him a sad smile. “We know the feeling,” she said quietly, and Lee reached up and squeezed her hand, giving her an appreciative nod. “But that's what we’re doing this for. We’ll get them back. You’ll see.”

Lee sighed, looking back down at his daughter’s picture. “I hope you’re right.”

“And you’re not going out here alone. Not without us. We’ll get things squared away then, we’re going on the search for our children. Now, who was the fella you were talkin’ to?”

“My friend that my son Lucas is staying with, Jorge, he said that he and Lucas had her until WCKD came to his compound and they got split up. Carina, Brenda, and two other boys probably had made it out and are on their way to go meet Marcus since he knows where Right Arm is. But, that’s not the case anymore. He doesn’t work with them.”

“What does he do?”

“He turns kids back into WCKD. So if Carina and Brenda get to Marcus before we do, she’s going straight back to that place.”

 

“Who was that?” Lucas glances to Jorge, seeing him getting off his walkie talkie as he roamed on over to grab his canteen.

“Your father, hermano.”

Lucas almost sips up his water, shocked. “He’s alright?”

Jorge nods. “He was, until I had to tell him about Bren and Carina being split away from us.”

“Ky.” Lucas started. “Her name is Ky . . She doesn’t remember like me.” He squats down next to Jorge, taking another gulp of water and peered over at the girl Teresa who was sitting next Micky, Chloe, and Newt. “Like us.”

Jorge hears his mumble, peering over to see what he was staring at. Once his dark eyes land on the girl, he automatically knows. “She’s the other sister?”

Lucas nods. “Yeah. They say her name’s Teresa now. That’s the nickname Carina gave her when she was little. They used to watch this old TV show with Mom and Dad, before everything went wrong . . . The one main character was named Teresa and she had the dark brown hair and blue eyes just like our sister. So, Carina thought she looked so much like her that she began naming her that. It just stuck until Carina turned four and that’s when she just called her by her real name.”

“Lucas,” Jorge begins gently, “How you even know that your sister remembers?”

“Hers looks the exact same way.” Lucas turned, taking down his hood, revealing his neck tattoo to Jorge. “They’re originally marked invisible to the naked eye, only noticeable under UV light, but when they give you back your memories it becomes prominent.” He lifts his hood back up, sitting back to how he was originally. “Seen hers a few miles back when the wind was blowing.”

“You don’t seem quite happy about the fact that she should know who you are, hermano.” Jorge takes a sip of his own water. “Why is that?”

“She’s the one that turned WCKD to our family.” Lucas states, gazing over at her again. “She went in willingly when our mother died because she didn’t want anyone to suffer through what we has witnessed. Ricky didn’t want her to be there alone so he followed in after her since he was the older brother. Then as the years progressed, she told WCKD about Liam and me, and they came for us. And finally, Carina.”

“And with her remembering, you’re afraid that she’ll do it again.”

“History repeats itself all the time, Jorge.” Lucas eyed him. “All that’s left now is the waiting game.”

Over with the others, the one boy named Minho was rubbing his arm, feeling the scarred tissue from the lightning strike that he got hit with and Carlos noticed, giving him a nod and showed him his. The two of them began bonding over their electrifying encounter while Teresa had gotten up, walking to Des and started speaking with her.

Jess, Samuel, Charlie, Sasha, Mads, Amirah, Bridge, and Dean were listening to Aris as he was telling the story of his winter maze that was called a Spring and how they had huge dark, flying bat creatures called Shades.

Then there was Anne, Quinn, Lina, Chloe, Sarah, Bia, and Hayley giving their undivided attentions to Newt and Frypan who were sharing funny stories to try and lighten the mood of them all constantly worrying for their friends. James was there too but he wasn’t associating with them, he mostly just sat off by himself, wondering how Owe and Ky were doing with Thomas and Brenda. He hoped that they were alright; that there was no problems and that they were on their way to somewhere that was safe from WCKD.

His blue eyes shift to Lucas who wanders over, holding a few snacks and passing them out to the Islers and Gladers. He then makes his way to James, staring at him for the time before handing him a can of beans and a water bottle. He takes it generously, thanking Lucas and Lucas nods before going to Minho and Carlos.

“You guys wonder what Ky and Owe are doing right now?” Quinn asks, eating their can of pineapple.

“Probably doing the same as us,” Chloe musters, eating her canned ravioli. “Worrying if we’re safe and out of harm’s way.”

Anne frowns. “Maybe they’re still sad about Sapph . . Maybe Owe worse of all.”

“Not to be a stick in the mud but like why?” [Sarah](https://66.media.tumblr.com/96cb6870cd842120816d592f58c8eb88/tumblr_inline_or71mrk4dR1rifr4k_540.gif) starts. “I mean yeah, she was just a little kid and deserved a long life but that’s gone and passed now. If Owe’s still moping around about that, he needs to realize that it was better that it happened earlier than later.”

“Can you be anything else other than a bloody bitch?” James snaps, his voice loud and clear. “You certainly need to get your priorities in check before I do it for you.” Sarah was taken back by his sudden outburst, keeping quiet and sipped on her plastic water bottle that Lucas gave her.

Anne gently rested her hand on top of his. “James?” Her voice was soft, tender spoken but he shrugged her off, standing and strolling off to be by himself. She went to speak again but Quinn gripped her shoulder, hinting at her to let him go and blow off some steam and whatever he was feeling.

After a minute, Jorge had gotten up, announcing that in four minutes they’ll be moving once again to head straight for his buddy named Marcus that lived in Crankland.

 

Through the one alleyway of what was known as Crankland, Thomas takes the lead with Owe, peering around the one street corner while music was blaring in the distance. Ky was walking with Brenda who sat down on the ground, taking off her backpack with a big huff. She watched as Brenda took out wrapping from her bag, tearing some of the fabric off.

The boys rotate themselves around, seeing the girls who were just waiting. Thomas sensed that something was off. “Hey, you alright?”

Brenda grabs the hem of her left legging, yanking it up to reveal that she had a huge bite mark from the Crank that attacked her. “Shit.” She mumbled.

“Brenda . . .” Thomas gaped.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” She glances up at the three, bandaging her bite and pulled her legging back down to cover it. Brenda puts her backpack back on, getting herself up. “Let’s just go find Marcus.”

Out in the town square, there was people walking around lifeless and dull. Some pushed old mall carts that had a few items in them and others just stayed around fire barrels to keep warm. Broken down cars surrounded the place, seeming to be an old timey junkyard despite people who were trying to make a living by selling homemade things for money. Ky even spotted a mother walking with her young son who couldn’t be no more than ten years old.

“Okay. Try to blend in.” Brenda looks to the three teens before spinning around.

From her remark Ky’s hand automatically and absentmindedly went to Owe’s, holding it tight and he glanced down, seeing how her slim fingers were wrapped around his in a huddle. His eyes then flicked up to see the side of her face, spotting a small mole freckle at the corner of her lips that he hadn’t really noticed before. It made her even more quite beautiful, that’s what Owe had thought.

They traveled up to a huge white mansion complex that was marked with a red flag that said Zone A. The music was coming from inside; a bass pumping into the streets which thumped into the feet of the four visitors, making them feel the pulse of the tune. A huge crowd was gathered outside of the entrance, some of them looking dazed or even drunk, swaying side to side to their own rhythm that didn’t match the song’s.

“Brenda, you sure this is the place?” Owe asks from behind her.

“You here for the party?” A blonde haired woman asks wearing fancy clothing with numerous necklaces decorating her neck and her teased, loose curled hair up in a ponytail.

Brenda shakes her head. “No. We’re looking for Marcus. This is his place, isn’t it?”

“This is my place.” A man with red hair comes sauntering out of the door, drinking some type of drink from a mason jar. He wore a dark button up shirt but the top four buttons were open, displaying his chest hair. He had dark blue bags underneath his eyes and his face looked very sick as if he was infected but there were no black veins.

“Are you Marcus?” Thomas questions, moving in towards him.

The man messes with the rings on his fingers which Ky found odd because from her experience, and from herself, only people who fumbled with their fingers were trying to come up with something to say.

“Marcus doesn’t live here anymore.”

“Do you know where we can find him?” Brenda wondered.

He shifts his eyes to her. “Sure, sure. He’s over in Zone B.”

The blonde haired lady lingered around Thomas, keeping her one hand on him at all times. Her fingers danced up and down his shoulder as she made a twirl around his body when he asked, “What’s Zone B?”

“It’s where they burn the bodies.” She whispers into Thomas’s ear, stepping away to be next to the man.

Ky observed the area around for a second before looking back to the man. “Has another group of teenagers like us come by? Teenagers who were also looking for Marcus with an older man in about his fifties?”

“You know, uh . .” He pauses, taking his finger to wipe under his one eye. “I think they might be inside. Here.” He then reaches into his coat’s pocket, pulling out a glass liquor bottle and taking off the cap and held it out to her. “Drink this.”

“And what exactly is that?” Owe steps in front, defending her and studied the drink.

“The price of admission.” No one made a move nor said anything, they were just quiet and that made the man angry. “Drink it!” He demanded.

Brenda shot her arm out in front of Owe, grabbing the drink and took a huge swig down. She gasped, swallowing it down and handed it to Thomas who then did the same. He then passed it on to Ky who looked to Owe for a moment, bringing the brim up to her lips and tipped back the glass. The warm liquid hit the back of her throat and fell down into her stomach, it burning along the way.

Owe was the last one to take a drink but he got more than what he wanted. The blonde haired lady placed her finger under the bottom of the bottle, tipping it so more of the drink went into Owe mouth for him to swallow down. She then took of the bottle away from him and the man chuckled happily, heading up and around the four.

“Alright. You four, enjoy the party.” He then pressed them all inside.

A haunting melody played which was almost soothing to the sound as girls in their clothes strut pass, clearly showing that they were having a good time. Lights from outside broke in from the covered windows, one of the streaks hitting a disco ball which emitted small bright lights around the room.

“We should split up.” Brenda theorizes. “See if we can find the others. Don’t drink anything else.” She nods slowly, turning about and headed off into one section.

Thomas then went, heading to where the supposed dance floor was in the mansion and even began taking off his jacket since he felt a little overheated. Owe drifted off to some place, Ky having not seen where he disappeared too which left her alone and feeling a tad woozy. She slowly followed to where Thomas went, making way through the dancing, sweaty bodies that bumped into her while he tried to walk.

Her body began getting extremely hot as well which caused her to unzip her hoodie that she wore under her jacket and took both of them off and wrapped the sleeves around her waist. Ky hobbled right pass a wall that was littered with small golden stringed lights that made her vision hazy just from witnessing them.

She ends up finding a little section that was a walkway and ended with four steps that led up and into some room that had a red blanket hanging down from the doorway. From inside, Ky heard a mumbled electronic voice as if someone was speaking into a microphone. Her feet follow the noise, taking her up the steps, her arm moving back the red heavy blanket to reveal a stage with a man dressed up in a ragged tuxedo and ruined top hat with a microphone in hand.

He’s wearing white cream on his face, talking to his audience who surrounded the stage in chairs and even couches with tables, eating some types of meals that Ky couldn’t remember what they were. The man chuckles, picking up a glass of water and drinks it down before clearing his throat and speaking into the mic again.

“Now by a show of hands, how many people here tonight believe in spirits and spiritual phenomenon? Raise your hands highly and proudly, go on!” A few people began doing so and Ky eyed them all. “I want the non-believers to look around the room so you can see where the nuts are sitting.”

The audience begins laughing as people lowered their hands, joining in on the good fun and a lady over by the corner of the stage began playing the organ with a sudden note which startled Ky.

“Now give yourself a round of applause for coming out tonight.” They then do so, some chiming bells that were around their wrists which was an odd thing to have. “And getting all dressed up, yes!” The man gets down from the stage, roaming around the tables, pointing out the nicely dressed people. “Especially you, and you, and you.” He then makes his way to Ky, his eyes locking on in hers and from that, she noticed that one of his eyes were brown while the other was green. “And you. You look so lovely.”

Ky just kept quiet, not responding as he turned away, heading up to a group of ladies. The one batted her eyes at him, being flirty and he took her hand, placing a kiss on the top of her hand.

“What are you drinking tonight?” She answers but the clapping is too loud to hear. He gets up, heading back to the stage and to the mic stand. “Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, is the last night of all nights. And all you are here for the most special and exalted evenings. Go to the bar, get that drink now, you know why? Because, it’s fuckin free! Ha!”

Everyone starts their cheering again and Ky felt out of place, like something was wrong. Very wrong. The man places the mic into the stand, stepping back and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a handgun and cocked it. People began yelling out to him, telling him to “do it” over and over again in happy, delighted chants.

A Crank is then pulled out on stage, thrashing around with a collar and chain around his neck and the man points the barrel of the gun at the Flare infected man. He pulls the trigger and Ky hurriedly turns away, hearing the gunshot go off. People all around stand, all excited and giddy over what they had just seen with their own eyes.

She takes off, running but stops once shes out in the crowd of dancing bodies. The music is blaring, obnoxious, and it seems to affect her eyesight making things blurry and distorted. She closes her eyes, shaking her heads as if it’ll help sort out her brain but once she opens them, she catches sight a figure darting behind a beam. Overcoming with the sense of familiarity and home, Ky ambles after the silhouette.

“Hello?” She calls out.

 _“Follow me, darling.”_   A honey dipped voice responds.

In the moment, Ky already had a sense of who the person was. “Mom?” The lady makes way through the dancing crowd and she follows, getting antsy. “Mom?!” She calls out louder, hoping the lady would turn around. “Mom!” The figure stops and so does Ky, watching, waiting.

She rotates around and Ky sees her gorgeous ocean eyes, soft golden blonde hair, and white smile. _“Ky.”_

“Mom . .”

Her smile then fades as her skin transformed into Crank’s with the black veins, the vines, and black goop leaking from the mouth. She tried to speak but only black liquid was falling out and Ky stumbled back, twisting her body around and ran.

“Thomas?! Brenda?! Owe?!” Ky screams out, pushing past the people who were blocking her way; trying to get to her friends. Little did she know, they were having their own issues.

Owe was being plagued with the vision of Sapph and Ky as a Cranks. Sapph was pleading to Owe as to why he didn’t help her when she needed him the most and Ky just begged for him to end her suffering. For Thomas, he experienced the same thing. He pictured his dead friend Winston as a Crank then his bestest friend Newt as one who jump-scared him to the point of falling back and onto the floor. He went to crawl away but witnessed his maze creature, a Griever, looming over on top of him as he passed out.

Ky kept on running, her finally finding Owe who was huddled into a corner, covering his face and swatting at some invisible thing. “Owe! We, we need to get out here!” She fell onto her knees, trying to remove his arms from his face. “Owe, listen, it’s me!”

She got down his hands and he opened his eyes, seeing her in front of him. “Ky?”

“It’s me.”

“But you . . . You were—You were . .”

“We’re seeing things, they’re not real. Come on, we need to find Thomas and Brenda.” She tried to help him up but Owe was heavy in her arms as his body began shutting down and going into sleep mode. They both sunk back down to the floor and Ky whimpered, gazing up and seen a Harbinger snapping its jaws at her. Her eyes began drooping, her arms and legs weighing like forty pounds. Ky’s body slants off to the side, colliding with the ground.

That’s when the door to the outside opened and bodies came rushing in, grabbing them.


	13. PART 2, CHAPTER 7: Why I Did It

“You do it?” Ky looks to Thomas, whispering as they hid in their secret meeting place that was a motherboard room for WCKD—as they liked to call it.

“Yeah.” He nods. “Couldn’t have done it without your help, thanks.”

“No problem. We just can’t tell her.”

Thomas quirks up a smile, nodding once again. “It’ll be our little secret.”

They leave the room, Thomas going down the left hall and Ky stuck with the right, heading to her room for the night since she was tired and it was already one in the morning. On her way there, she glanced into the Swipe room, seeing a few subjects that were awaiting their transfer at nine and kept on walking until she spotted Lucas who wore his hoodie with the hood up, standing at her door.

“Hey there.” She smiles, swiping her keycard and enters her room, sitting down on the bed that had nothing but light blue sheets on them. The same color of blue that marked her white shirt that she wore everyday. “Isn’t it past your curfew?”

“That curfew is in set for you as well.” He states. “Was starting to think you got abducted.”

“You know me, I like to explore.” She shrugs simply.

He scoffs, rolling his eyes in a playful manner. “Well then, you can explore all you want, get lost somewhere for all that I care, and I’ll be happy all by myself so I no longer have to worry about you.”

Ky stops, giving him a look with a gentle smirk of teasing. “Are you sure you want to be alone?”

Lucas’s smile teetered, becoming weak as he dropped his head and took in a deep breath. “Night, Ky.” He then dismissed himself without another word.

She watched as he left, closing the door after and got changed into her long white nightgown. Ky lied in bed for the longest time, staring at her cyber clock that flashed 1:10 AM in a dim blue light. Her eyelids begin lowering, drifting her off into heavy sleep . . . Until eight o’clock rolled around.

The door burst open, jerking Ky awake, being frightened by the guards until her flickering eyes landed on Teresa. She wore a hard expression that Ky couldn’t exactly tell what it was but knew that it wasn’t something good. Janson was in the room as well, holding a clipboard and flipped through a few pages before finding the one that he needed.

“Ms. Agnes, looks like you’ve been selected to be a subject.”

“A subject?” The word seemingly made her heart stop. “W-What? Why? What have I done?” Ky isn’t answered, instead, she’s grabbed by the guards and begins crying out. “No, wait! Get off of me! What did I do? What did I do?!” She tried to fight them off, whimpering with tears spilling from her eyes. “Teresa!”

Teresa’s expression folded up, her breathing increased and she stumbled backwards out of the room. She couldn’t believe what was going on—what she had done. _I had to do it, I had to._ She mentally repeats over and over like a mantra, trying to convince herself. _I had to do it to save her._

The guards escorted the fifteen year old on out by the arms, dragging her towards the Swipe and she kept on weeping. Her head turns off to the right, glancing back over her shoulder at the girl who just stood viewing.

“Teresa!” Ky wails out.

 

The upper half of Ky’s body moves up slightly, her eyes opening to see a golden light shining in on Anne’s face. Anne rests her hand on her shoulder, calming her down and gently smiled; glad to see that her friend was awake and out of harm.

“Hey,” she uttered. “You know, you need to stop passing out on us.” Anne teases while Quinn squats down next to her on the floor mattress that Ky was placed on.

“Yeah, Ky. Anne here usually goes crazy whenever you do. Not always easy to pull her back from the tracks.”

The two help her sit up for her to see the whole gang in one piece, sitting in all different spots in a random room. She peers to her right, seeing James and Bia with Owe which earns Ky a smile; making her relaxed and peaceful until she hears a punch being thrown from another location within her surroundings.

In the middle of the room, the man that gave her, Owe, Brenda, and Thomas the drink was strapped up in a wooden chair with his face already beaten in and Jorge stood directly in front of him. He didn’t look too pleased.

“Why’s he beating up that guy?” She questions.

“That’s Marcus.” Quinn muttered, shaking their head. “Brenda told us that he lied to you guys, getting the four of you drunk.” They scoff. “What a load of garbage.”

“I suggest that you talk! You son of a bitch!” Jorge punches Marcus in the face again.

“Damn it!” He yells out in pain but slowly brings his back forwards, looking up at Jorge with his good eye since the other one was swollen shut from bruising. “I'm sorry . . . you're going to have to leave my house.”

Thomas had gotten up, moving around and set up next a couch where his group was sitting. Newt glancing up at him and said something but Ky was too focused on watching Jorge as he stared down his old friend. “Listen. I don't enjoy hurting you. Okay? Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?”

“Wait, this is Marcus?” Thomas motions towards him.

He laughs, looking to Thomas. “The kid catches on quick. Are you the brains of the operation?”

Jorge then leans forwards, gripping the top of his hair and yanked up his head with caused him to groan. “I know you know where they're hiding. So you tell me, and I'll make you a deal.” He lets his hair go, taking a step back. “You can come with us.”

Marcus laughs again, smiling. “I burned that bridge a long time ago. Besides, I made my own deal. You're the one who taught me, never miss an opportunity.” He finishes his sentence with another laugh.

Newt furrows his brows. “What's he talking about?”

Jorge doesn’t answer, but Marcus does. “I'm talking about supply and demand.” He pauses. In the corner of the room, Ky picks up on a body that was near the mattress, peering over in a way that she wouldn’t be noticed and seen the girl that she just witnessed in her dream. Teresa. She was sitting by Lucas, Frypan, Aris, and Des.

“WCKD wants all the Immunes they can get. I help provide that for them.” Marcus continues on which makes Ky relook to him. “So I lure the kids in . . . they get drunk, they have a good time. And then, later, WCKD comes in . . . they separate the wheat from the chaff.” He grins, his eyes lingering over to someone and following his eyesight, Ky realized that he was eagle eyeing Brenda who turns away from his stare.

When Jorge discovered that’s what Marcus was doing, that’s when he snapped. “I changed my mind, hermano. I do enjoy hurting you.” He picked up his right foot, kicking Marcus in the gut which tipped him backwards onto the floor with a crashing thud. Jorge then withdrew out his gun, getting down and towering over Marcus as he chuckled. His cocked the gun, aiming it down at him and wrapped his hand around his neck. “Talk! You talk!”

“Okay! Jesus!” He musters up, gasping for air. “But I'm not making any promises. These guys like to move around.” Jorge placed his gun back into his waistband and Frypan got up with Des, helping Jorge with picking Marcus back up while he breathed heavily for a minute or two. “They have an outpost in the mountains. But it's a long way away. You got half of WCKD on your ass. You're never gonna make it.”

Jorge then smirks. “Not on foot.” He bends down, placing his hands on Marcus’s shoulders. “Where's Bertha?”

He shook his head, bottom lip quivering. “Not Bertha.”

“Oh, yes. Bertha.”

Dean raised his forearm up in the air as if he were in school and asking for permission to speak. “May I ask, who’s Bertha?”

In an old shed where the huge group had wandered into from Marcus’s directions, Jorge lifts a huge large white tarp off of a vehicle that had bull horns on the front as a type of decoration. He looked to a Dean, stating that the “beautiful machinery” was Bertha and unlocked the car with the keys that he was reluctantly given from Marcus as well.

Minho called for the front screen but Newt stated that he wanted it so boys being boys, they began playing Rock, Paper, Scissors for it. Newt won and Minho began pouting which Chloe remarked as “an adorable look on him”. Newt got up in front and Minho, Micky, and Chloe got into the back while everyone else had to pile into the bed of the truck. The bed quickly ran out of room since there was tons of the Islers to fit and Jess suggested for a few to sit in laps of others.

Anne sat in Quinn’s, Ky sat in Lina’s, Owe was in James’s, Hayley in Des’s, Dean in Carlos’s, Charlie in Sarah’s, Cass in Bridge’s, and Mads in Samuel’s. They all packed in, eyeing the Gladers who sat across from them plus Aris, Lucas, and Brenda. Ever so often, Ky kept taking glances to Brenda, making sure she was alright just like how she had done with Sapph except this time, she knew what to look out for; what to prepare for.

Lucas, holding his knees and sitting right next to Teresa, he seen how she kept her blue eyes on Ky for a short amount of time, look away, then go back. He gives her a gentle nudge and the older girl glances over, her blue crystal eyes locking in and contrasting against his dark ones.

“I know you remember me, and her,” he nods his head over in Ky’s direction. “So you don’t have to pretend like you don’t . . . All I ask is for you to do the right thing this time around. Family’s important.”

Teresa takes a small inhale. “Archi . . .” She cooes but he cuts her off.

“No.” Lucas defends. “It’s Lucas . . . Lucas Murphy, not Archi Agnes. And Liam, that was his name—not Anton, but Liam. And you’re not Teresa Agnes . . . You’re Deedee Murphy, just like how Ky’s Carina Murphy. We’re products of our parents, not WCKD. Sometimes it hurts when you believe we’re anything less than that.”

Teresa rests back, keeping quiet for the rest of the way and stared up at the top of the upper interior surface of the truck’s bed. Her own personal beliefs and values being torn in two.

Up the mountains they went driving on the road, scaling higher and higher until they all felt the car coming to a slow and eventual stop. The sounds of Jorge getting out with Newt, Minho, and the girls had Frypan reaching the for the handle and opening the back. He slips on out, lending out his hands to help Thomas, Brenda, Teresa, and Aris out before moving onto the Islers; Anne went first, then Ky, Owe, Hayley, Dean, Charlie, and the rest.

All of them strolled up to the front, seeing the road blocked with old, rusty cars that seemed not to be functional anymore. Jorge sighs at the sight, “Well . . . I guess we’re on foot.”

All twenty-eight members of the party went on the move.

In the high skies, crows squawked as if they were warning the group of some unseen entity and Jess took a note of it. Jorge roamed around in the truck of one car that was open, only seeing a suitcase of clothes whereas Micky and Newt both took ganders inside of a car that had its windows rolled down the entire way. Teresa was gazing out at small boulders of rock that had fallen over the years until she heard a whisper emitting from the right of her. She turns and looks, spotting Ky who was walking along side Brenda whose lips looked to be a shade of dark blue. He attention is then moved to the left when the sound of falling rock echoes throughout the mountain. Jorge hears it too, getting suspicious.

Thomas heads up to a vehicle, eyeing a bullet hole in the windshield. He reaches forwards, lightly grazing it with his finger tip until a bullet flies, hitting the hood. It startles him and everyone else while more bullets fly through the air.

“Get down!” Jorge orders.

“Take cover!” Newt adds in, ducking down behind a car with Minho, Micky, Chloe, Mads, Quinn, and Anne.

Brenda, Ky, Teresa, Lucas, James, Aris, and Frypan get down behind a van; covering their heads as a few bullets hit the windows, spraying glass on top of them. The other Islers hid in other places but Ky couldn’t see from where she was settled, she just only prayed that they were protected.

The gunshots stopped and it was dead silent until Thomas broke it, “Hey, is everyone okay out there?!”

“We’re fine!” Teresa calls back, realizing that she had thrown her body over Ky’s to keep her extra protected. She leaned off of her and Lucas watched, hope stirring inside of him that maybe this time would be different.

Newt checks out the Islers before Minho, seeing that Micky had a few deep cuts on her face from the glass. He frowned, asking if she was alright and cupped her cheeks to inspect for himself since he had his share of wounds from the Glade. “Anyone know where them bloody shots came from?!”

“That son of a bitch, Marcus. He led us into an ambush.” Jorge huffs, getting his pack off from his shoulder, getting something out.

Thomas turned around, peering up and over the hood to try and see who shot at them but not before more guns fired, causing him to fall back down and take cover. “What do we do?” He worried.

“Here. Hold this.” Jorge hands him a device that had wires, a battery, and a lever on it for something. Thomas was weary about it. “We gotta create a diversion. You get ready to chuck it.” He then lifts himself up a bit, shouting. “Everybody! Get set to sprint back to the truck! And hold your ears!”

They all listen, cuffing their ears and readied their legs for running.

Jorge then pulls out what Thomas could tell was the detonator for the explosive device, turning it on which made a beeping noise and flashed a red flickering light. “Ready?” He nods. “One . . . Two . . .”

A gun cocks which has them both freeze up. “Drop it.” Jorge’s thumb hovers over the button, his eyes finding the girl who spoke staring him down with a cloth wrapped around her face and a rifle pointed at him. “Now! I said drop it!” Thomas finally does so and Jorge turns off the detonator, placing it down ever so slowly as another girl dressed like her with blonde hair stands by her side. “On your feet. Let's go.” They both raise their hands, doing so. “Let's go! Move! Back up!”

“Easy.” Jorge responses, stepping back.

The girl then eyes Newt, Minho, and the others. “You seven, over here now!” She barks.

“Come on, let's go!” The blonde haired girl speaks, seeing the others and pointed her rifle at them. They join Thomas, Jorge, Newt, Minho, and the Islers.

“Don't be stupid! Move.” The first girl remarks.

“Slowly.” The blonde added

The first girl wanders her eyes, landing on Aris and she momentarily is struck with realization. “Aris?” She lowers her gun, yanking off her scarf to reveal her nose and mouth; her whole face revealed.

He gasps. “Oh, my God. Harriet?”

She strolls up, instantly taking him into a huge hug and he hugs back. “My God. What the hell are you doing here?”

The blonde pulls off hers as well, a smile appearing on her face as Harriet let Aris go and he turned to her with a goofy grin. “Sonya.”

She goes in for her hug, breathless. “Aris, you're lucky we didn't shoot your dumb ass.” Sonya pulls away, but keeps him close. “You all right, man?”

“Uh . . ,” Minho interrupts. “What's happening?”

Aris faces them then all the others. “We were in the maze together.”

Harriet places her middle finger and thumb pinched together into her mouth, huffing which causes a huge whistle. “We're clear, guys! Come on out!”

“Copy that!” People on top of the mountains with guns began appearing out from their hiding spots, looking down at all of them. “We're clear! Stand down!”

“My God, you're alive.” Sonya cups Aris’s face and Jorge gives a little smirk, impressed that the kid was there and had helped them grant access to where Right Arm was.

Sonya and Harriet lead them through the rest of the cars, the small little rock tunnel and at the end, there was a truck that blocked the exit but Sonya give the call of  “back it up, Joe!” and they did. There was men with bulletproof vests, guns, and huge vehicles that looked to be used by the army or some contractors that used to work at power plants or something of importance.

They strolled pass one man and Harriet piped up, “We're taking them to base.” He nods them off.  “Wait, so, how did you guys get here?” Aris walks up by her, curious since the last he remembered about escaping their Spring, they were taken out of the Berg that Rachel and he were in by men in green suits rather than black like WCKD’s.

“The Right Arm got us out.”

“Wait, wait.” Thomas butts in, stepping up to her as she stopped at a vehicle's door. “The Right Arm? Do you know where they are?”

She smiles, pulling on the door handle and stepped off to the side. “Hop in.”

 

Lee escorted Linda and Ramona up to Marcus’s mansion, giving them the background knowledge that they needed to know about the man. Saying about how when WCKD came in, attacking an old Right Arm outpost, Marcus abandoned Jorge and Brenda by driving away as fast as he could. Ramona shook her head, calling Marcus a despicable man and wandered aimlessly to search the inside of the home to see sleeping bodies all over the place. She had to step over them, making sure she wouldn’t hit anyone with her foot.

Linda covered her mouth and nose with her handkerchief, gazing to Lee and spoke in her English accent. “Lee, why would Jorge bring the kids here if he knew that he’d just turn them into WCKD?”

“Because he didn’t. Only I did.” He sighs, “I was supposed to find Carina and take her back to his compound for us to all get ready to head to Right Arm, not the other way around. Especially not with Marcus and his weaseling ways.”

“Then how’d you find Right Arm if it wasn’t for him—Marcus?” Ramona knits her brows together, stepping into a new room to see a trail of blood on the floor that led out of a back door.

Lee spots it too, already having an idea of what happened. “One of my good friends who I met in the Marine Corp, Diego, he actually help found Right Arm with a woman named Mary who used to work as the spokesman of the PFC. He had me stay with them, breaking out kids from many of WCKD’s Maze Trials in hopes of getting my kids. They told me about Marcus and he visited about four times until he stopped doing so.”

“And from there, you got antsy with wanting to find your kids, contacted your eldest son, he told you about Lucas and you traveled out here. Met Jorge, got to know one another and stayed with him then got Lucas until it was time to get Carina.” Ramona nods, getting his life story in order.

He nods, walking up to the door and opens it up to Nancy, the blonde woman who always wore her teased hair up in a ponytail, trying to untie a bloody faced Marcus from a chair that was set up in the middle of the room. They both look over and Lee straightens out his back.

“Give me a break.” Marcus shakes his head.

“Nance, would you like to excuse me and my friends to talk to my old pal Marcus here. Alone.”

She leaves without hesitation, Marcus resting his head back against the headrest and exhaled while looking up at the ceiling before looking back down with his good eye. “Been a long time since I’ve seen you, Lee.” He chuckles.

“Been a long time since I’ve seen someone beat the living daylights out of you. Forgot how much of a good look it is on you.”

“Why you here?”

“You know exactly why I’m here.” Lee retorts, finding a folded up chair and sat it out in front of Marcus, sitting down on it. “Were the kids here with Jorge?” Marcus just eyes him, grimacing. “You tell them to head on up to the mountains?”

“Maybe, they just stole my car and left me here to die.”

“Marcus,” his voice becomes stern. “No games, not now.” Lee pulled out the picture that Linda gave him of Ky when she was fifteen in WCKD, revealing it to him. “Was she with them?”

“You know, I . . . I just can’t quite remember. I’m sorry.”

Lee scowled. “Thirteen years, Marcus, I been without her. Now, answer the damn question. Was she with them?”

“I told you, I just don’t recall seeing her. Maybe she became Crank chow.” He snickers and as quick as a whip, Lee reached into his holster, taking out his knife and jabbed it down right into his Marcus’s left kneecap. “Ah! Damnit!” He yells out in agony.

“Your memory working now?” Lee asks, moving the blade around. “I hope it does for your sake, because if not, your knee is going to be coming off and you’re screwed for walking. Now . . Was my daughter with Jorge?”

Marcus grunted, mustering up the words to speak as drool came dripping out of his lips. “Yes . . She was safe, and with them. And their on their way to Right Arm, I swear, Lee. I swear!”

“God have mercy on you and your soul if you’re lying, because if you are and I don’t see my daughter again, I’ll find you. And trust me, your knee isn’t the only thing that’s going to be ruined.”

He yanks his knife out from Marcus’s knee earning him another yell from Marcus and he looked to the women. Ramona seemed impressed and Linda looked a tad scared but grateful that Lee finally gotten his answer that he had been desperately wanting.

“Ladies, let’s go get our children.”

 

Getting out of the trucks and seeing the high cliff of a rock structure with people and tents all over below it was breathtaking and an incredible piece of scenery. The air was chiller and more windy but that didn’t make the idea of being there any more less exciting. The Islers, Gladers, Jorge, Brenda, and Aris, they all had officially made it to the Right Arm.

Harriet and Sonya guide them on down as if they were tour advisers, speaking like ones too.

“They've been planning this for over a year now. This is all for us.”

“You guys are lucky you found us when you did. We're moving out at first light.” Sonya then asks a man that strolls pass, “Where's Vince?”

“Somewhere over there, I think.” He points and they start off in that direction.

“Who's Vince?” Thomas looks to her but Harriet answers.

“He's the one who decides if you get to stay.”

They continued on walking, glancing around and Minho speaks up from besides Anne. “I thought the Right Arm was supposed to be an army.”

“Yeah, we were.” A man with a beard exists a tent, motioning to all those around them. “This is all that's left of us. Lot of good people died getting us this far.” He then looks to Harriet. “Who are they?”

“They're Immunes. Caught 'em coming up the mountain.”

“Did you check 'em?”

“I know this guy, Aris.” She points him out to the man. “I trust him.”

“Well, I don't. Check 'em.” He orders to his men that were gathered around his back.

The one wanders up, seeing how Brenda looked weak and very sick. “Hey, boss . . .”

She croaks, her body giving up on her and she falls straight to the dirt as Brenda moves quickly to get her up. “Brenda!” He places her into his arms. “Brenda! Brenda!” She kept on gasping for air. “Brenda, talk to me.”

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” She kept on repeating and Ky covered her mouth with her hand, flashes of Sapph coming back into her mind and she couldn’t bear it. She turns herself around, cuffing her ears and squeezed her eyes tight.

“What's going on with her?” The man kneels down in front of Jorge.

“I don't know.” He remarks. “Brenda, are you all right? Brenda? Talk to me.”

The man notices a swaddle of fabric on her calf, mumbling, “What the hell?” He reaches forwards, moving the bandage downwards to see a bite mark with dark blue veins surrounding it. Automatically, he knew what the problem was. “Shit! Crank!” He stands, pulling out his gun from his holster and aims down at Brenda. “We got a Crank!”

“No!” Jorge shouts, ready to get up and pounce on the man but the two henchmen gather and hold him on back so he couldn’t. “No!”

“Wait! Wait, wait!” Thomas jumps in the middle of Brenda and the man, holding up her hands for him not to do anything reckless. “Listen!”

“Step back!”

“Listen, okay?” Thomas starts gently, breathing heavily, “This just happened, okay? She’s not dangerous yet.”

“You shouldn’t have brought her here!”

“I know. I—”

“If we let Cranks in here now, the safe haven doesn’t last a week!” He yells, looking to Jorge, down to Brenda, then back at Thomas. “So step back!”

“I understand, okay? I understand, just . . . Listen, please.” Thomas tries to talk sense to him. “I told her that you could help. Okay? There’s gotta be something you can do.”

He eyes him for a moment, nodding. “Yeah, there is.” Ky slowly turns back, seeing what was happening and stayed close to Lucas. The man cocks his gun. “I can put her out of her misery.”

“No! No!” Jorge shouts.

“Vince, that’s enough!” A female voice echoes out, having him stop in his tracks. They all look over, seeing a woman trekking down the small slope with long brunette hair. “Let him go!” She points to Jorge and the men do so, listening. Instantly, the teens knew that she was the real person in charge.

“She’s infected, doc.” Vince tells her as she stands next to him. “There’s nothing we can do for her.”

The woman’s eyes linger on Thomas. “No, but he can. Hello, Thomas.” She smiles then spots Ky. “Ky.” She softly gasps which made everyone confused.

Thomas glances over his shoulder at Ky then back to the woman. “You know us?”

She then loses her smile. “Interesting. I knew they put her in the maze but not you.” Casually, she kneels down to Brenda, checking her pulse while still talking. “Though I must admit . . . I was worried they’d kill you both after what you two had done.”

Thomas stammered, “Wh-what we did?”

“The first time we ever met,” she glances up to Thomas, “you told me that you and Ky couldn’t take it anymore . . . watching people die one by one because of what WCKD was doing. The last time we spoke, you gave me the coordinates of every WCKD compound, trial, and lab that Ky had helped you find.”

“They were our sources.” Vince stated.

“We couldn’t have pulled all of this off without their help.” She then draws silence, checking Brenda’s warm head. “Take her to the tent. Get these guys some warm clothes.”

Jorge and the one man helped scoop Brenda up and they led her over to the Medical Tent that they had and settled her into the one bed.

A younger woman strolls out, carrying coats for the teens as she supported bold red lipstick. She passes them out, smiling. “Here, these will keep you all warm for the night. Feel like getting hugs from a giant grizzly bear.”

“Thank you.” Anne smiled to her, putting on the long jacket that was marked with a yellow symbol.

“You’re welcome.” She passed the rest out, looking to them all. “My name’s [Eliza](https://66.media.tumblr.com/db2c51094ad4b90de0555ab66045a8c6/tumblr_inline_p0spr4jyfQ1u1985c_400.gif) if you guys need anything else. And, if you’re hungry, you can head on over to my friend named Nicoletta and she’ll fix you all up with some nice rabbit stew. Trust me, it’s to die for.” She smiles then spots James which instantly made her perk up. “And what are you doing here, James?”

He sideyes her, dropping his head and the Islers were all darting back and forth between the two. Micky leans over to Quinn. “Is it just me? Or does it seem like everyone is knowing everyone else?”

“This was my maze group.” He announces. “We’re friends and I don’t plan on leaving them anytime soon.”

“How noble of you.” She says, squinting her eyes in suspicion but taking his word for it. “Well, today is going to be full packed of surprises.”

The woman from before, she comes back, asking for Thomas to head up to the tent because she needed his blood and he went. She was about to leave too until Ky spoke. “Ex-cuse me.” Her voice cracks and she focuses on her. “What’s your name?”

“Mary.” She sweetly chimed.

Ky didn’t remember a Mary, not even from her Preserve but she nods gingerly. “I’d introduce myself back but you already know.”

“That I do.” Mary witnesses Owe who was putting on his newest coat and her face lit up so much that Ky was almost stunned that someone could be that happy.

“Jake?” She utters. Owe peers up, seeing Mary and she steps up to him before studying his face. “Jake, is that you?”

“Jake?” He remarks, not sure if she was losing her mind. “My name’s Owe.”

She tears up, nodding. “Yeah but before that, you were Jake.” Mary cups his one cheek for a second, then checked his one ear that had an abnormal feature of the helix. She smiles even more. “My son.”

“Mom?” Mary nods vigorously, her tears falling from her cheeks and pulls him in for a hug. Owe hugs her back tightly, his heart swelling up and paced itself at a comfortable beat. “I have a mom . .”

She pulls away from him, fixing his hair and began looking around. “Where’s your little sister?”

“Sister?”

“Adelaide.” Mary states, “WCKD gave her name Sapph. Where’s she?”

Then it was over. Owe’s heart broke into pieces behind his rib cage that acted like a jail for it. The Islers fell silent and Ky reached into her pocket, feeling Sapph’s necklace with the pads of her fingers. The silence gave Mary her answer and she hugged Owe once again, this time, he clung to her.

“I didn’t . . I didn’t know.” Owe cried. “I didn’t know, Mom. I didn’t—She got hurt, infected, and I . . I couldn’t do anything. Mom, I . . I didn’t know. I didn’t know.”

“I know, hun. I know.” Mary rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. Bia turned away, excusing herself to go get some stew and James knew that Sapph’s death was weighing in on her; he offered to go with and Micky, Anne, and Quinn tagged along.

The others mostly just split up, sitting around fires, and talking with one another in the comfort of safety while Ky and Jess stayed back with Owe and Mary. Mary had the three of them follow her to the Medical Tent so she could work on Brenda and keep an eye out on her son.

In the hut, Thomas was getting his blood drawn, sitting on the cot that was next to Brenda’s, watching her as she kept taking in short breaths. He asked Mary what all had happened and she began filling them all in.

“In the beginning, we were lost. All we knew for sure . . . was that the younger you were, the stronger your chances.” She remarks, putting on blue plastic gloves and roamed around her tables that had beakers, tubes, empty syringes, bins, medicine, and others things that Ky had no idea what they were but Jess did.

“Did you used to work for WCKD?” Jess asks, spectating what she was doing since she enjoyed the science of it all.

Mary nods. “Long time ago. You know, at first, we had the best intentions. Find a cure, save the world. It was clear you kids were the key, because you were immune. But why?”

Over at the entrance, Teresa snuck over, peering in to see Brenda, Thomas, and eventually Ky. She then eavesdropped in while Mary took some of Thomas’s blood, pouring it into a beaker that had some type of solution in it.

“Eventually, we found an answer. An enzyme produced by the brains of the immune. Once separated from the bloodstream . . . it can serve as a powerful agent to slow the spread of the virus.”

Owe picks up his head, hopeful. “There’s a cure now?”

Mary looked to her son, shaking her head. “Not exactly, Jake. The enzyme can't be manufactured, only harvested from the immune. The young. Of course, that didn't stop WCKD.” She focuses back on what she’s doing, mixing a few things together and readied a syringe. “If they had their way . . . they'd sacrifice an entire generation. All for this.” She lifts up the shot, showing them the blue clear liquid that was in it. “A gift of biology. Of evolution. But one not meant for all of us.”

Teresa lets the opening go, backing away and glanced to the side, spotting Lucas that was speaking to some girl and walked away from the tent.

Mary gets down by Brenda’s side, raising up the sleeve on her sweater and inserted the needle into her skin, pushing the plunger. Once the medicine hit her bloodstream Brenda took in a deep breath, then exhaled. Her body rested, drifting off to a peaceful slumber.

“How long does that give her?” Ky pipes up gently from besides Thomas since she chose to sit next to him.

“It's different for everyone. A few months maybe. But that’s the catch, isn’t it?” Mary looks up to her. “She’ll always need more.” She stands, nudging Jorge’s back and looks to Jess, Ky, and Owe. “Come on, let’s go. They’ll need to rest.” Jorge was hesitate but Mary reassured him.

Outside, Jorge sits down on a wooden box, waiting and thinking. Jess decided to stay with him to keep him company while Mary took Ky and Owe over to where Eliza and her friend was.

The girl glances up from eating and talking to Lina, smiling. “Hey Mary, who are they?” Nicoletta asks.

“This is my son, Jake.” She smiles. “And friend, Ky. I think they’re worthy of our stew, if you don’t mind fetching them a bowl.”

“On it, M’am.” [Nicoletta](https://data.whicdn.com/images/290005209/original.gif) gets up and over to the huge metal pot that sat across a metal grate that hovered over a fire. She gets two bowls and silverware, filling them up and brings them back over. “This is for you, Jake. And for you, Ky.”

They take the bowls, thanking her and both sit on down next to the Gladers eating the stew. “This is good.” Ky nods.

“Should try it with the bread they gave us.” Frypan suggests. “Tastes phenomenal. Here, have some!” He takes his slice, handing it over and she takes it, trying it out and let out a moan. “Told ya it was good.” Frypan laughs.

“Very.” She nods, swallowing it down.

“Glad you like it,” a man strolls up, smiling and placed his hands on his hips. “I made it.”

Mary smiles. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Diego Garcia. He used to be a Marine and he’s one hell of a chef.”

“Yo, you need to teach me the recipe to this!” Frypan tell him.

[Diego ](http://66.media.tumblr.com/9884614348a35df0f4f09c722c952b23/tumblr_o4i8rzSRJO1t2mdaeo1_500.gif)flashes a smile. “I’ll be sure to do so. I like people who appreciate cooking just as much as me.” Up on the slope, there was hollars of people greeting someone and they glanced up, trying to see who was all there and speaking. Diego peers up, spotting the one man and grinned. “Yes! Mary, he’s back! He must’ve done it!” He jets off.

“What was he talking about?” Ky asks.

Mary motions for her to stand up, to follow her. “Come on with me. You should be here for this.”

Not knowing what she was saying but didn’t want to be rude, she listens and follows her up the mountain in her fur trench coat. Lucas tags behind, already knowing what to expect.

Seeing him, Ky thought back to the dream she had before waking up at Marcus’s. “Lucas?” He glances to her. “Who are you to me?” The question has him speechless, but she continues on. “When I was out, I had this dream where you and I were talking in WCKD, and Teresa showed up later but . . It was like, the three of us knew each other. But not in a way that’s like, ‘Oh, they’re old friends’ but as in like, something more.” She pauses. “Who are you?”

Lucas takes in a deep breath. “Would you believe me . . If I said that I was your older twin brother?”

Ky smiles. “I think that’d make a lot of sense.” She teases. “Back when we met you, sounded like you were about to say our dad but caught yourself before you did so.”

He nods. “Yeah, I almost did.”

“Teresa’s our sister?”

“Yeah. You figure that out from your dream?”

“Janson told me I had a sister so I was wondering all this time but the dream kinda made it apparent.”

At the top, there was two women and there stood a man with a beard that was closely shaven to his face, speaking to Vince about something. The one dark lady spotted Ky, nudging the man repeatedly and whispered something to him which made him turn to face them. Seeing the two seventeen year olds, Lee dropped all of his bags that he was carrying, running over.

“Lucas! Carina!”

“Is that . . ?” Ky darted her eyes up into Lucas’s, “Dad?” He nodded happily. “Dad . .” She tested the word out, darting back at the man who was running for her. “Dad!” She says with energy of life bursting through her body, causing her legs to run. “Dad!”

“Carina!” He opens his arms, bringing her into a bear hug as she collided with him. “Carina, my baby girl.” Lee sniffled, kissing the top of her head repeatedly. “I found you. I finally found you. I’m sorry it took so long.” Ky whimpered, feeling safe and secured in a way that she couldn’t explain. Lucas sauntered over, joining in on the hug and Lee took him under his wing, kissing the top of his head as well. “I love you both, so much.”

Linda and Ramona watched Lee with his kids, them feeling sappy over the moment until their attentions were captured by a young female voice. They peered over, seeing a brown haired girl who was sixteen staring at them. She hurried over, hugging Linda first. “Mom!”

“Emma?” She gasped, arms snaking around her gently. “You remember me?”

Anne nodded. “It was the only thing I did remember. I’m so glad you’re okay. I missed you.”

“We missed you too, pumpkin.” Linda kissed her forehead.

Anne backed away, giving Ramona her hug. “Eemah!”

“Emma!” She held her tight, kissing her cheeks. “You’re so beautiful. Let me have a proper look at ya.” Ramona pulls back, placing her hands on Anne’s shoulders. “Yes, beautiful indeed.”

“You should come and meet the rest of my friends.” She takes their hands, guiding them down the slope to meet the rest of the Islers and Lee, Lucas, and Ky joined.

 

A few hours had pass and it was spent as family time. All the Islers met Lee, Linda, and Ramona, automatically making them their own parents and they told wonderful conversations about the world that used to be to enlighten them on things that WCKD had them forget. Including their real names.

Anne’s was Emma Oakley, named after Linda’s late grandmother. She was born January 5th and she used to have a pet goldfish named Marty that glowed in the dark. Her favorite color was yellow and favorite stuffed animal to fall asleep with was her stuffed goat that she named Lily.

Lee gone next, saying how Ky’s real name was Carina Murphy. He named her Carina because when he was deployed overseas, at night, he’d look up at the Southern sky and see a constellation of stars that, together, created a huge ship. Carina, only be consisted of nine stars, was the important piece of the ship; the keel. It helps it maintain balance and not be tipped over. She was born in October, favorite flower was violets, and her favorite color was blue. She used to have a pet dog named Moose who always wore a blue bandanna around his neck and her favorite animal was a giraffe.

Mary had joined in on the conversation, even though Owe was off somewhere else but she told them about him as well. His real name was Jake Rogers, unfortunately he wasn’t named after anyone. He was born on in March and his favorite color was brown, making anything that was colored brown his favorite thing. She told how when he was in Elementary, they did a surname project to create your family’s flag and the Rogers flag had deer on it. Ever since he learned that, it became his favorite animal.

She even spoke about Sapph, her real name was Adelaide and Mary and her husband, Ben, they adopted her because they wanted a little girl. When they had her, Owe stuck by her side all the time. He never left or done anything without her; he always made sure that she was alright.

After that, Ky found herself getting up, remembering the necklace and roamed to try and find Owe. It took awhile before she finally found him in his mother’s tent, sitting on the one cot in silence. She frowned, gently tapping on the pole for him to acknowledge her presence and look up.

“Hey there.”

“Hey, Ky.”

“We found our parents. Our family.” She smiles, trying to lighten his mood but all he does is just shake his head.

He mumbles, “I found my mom but as for my family, my sister, it was too late.”

Ky causally went over, taking a step next to him and reached into her pocket, enclosing her fist around the necklace. She pulls it out, handing it to him. “Here, Sapph wanted you to have it when the time was right.”

Owe glances down, noticing her pendant that she used to wear all the time and softly took it from Ky’s hand. He inspects it for a moment, her last words to him slipping right into his brain and ear canal. His finger fumble around the oval pendant, feeling a little slot and furrowed his brows. Tenderly, Owe inserts his thumbnail gently which cracks the thing open. He pulls the one side over, seeing a picture of their family in two sides inside of the pendant. One picture was of Mary and who he instantly figured out was his father. Then on the right, him, Sapph, an older boy, and two smaller ones but not as young as Sapph.

“It’s a locket.” Ky cooes, leaning in close to Owe to see the pictures more clearly. “You know what this means?” Her eyes flickered up to already met his gaze. “She knew who you were this whole entire time. She knew that you were her brother.” She lightly laughed, smiling. “She really isn’t gone.”

Owe teared up, closing the locket and placed the necklace around his neck, hiding it under his shirt. “She meant a lot to me, and I knew . . . I somehow knew but I just never . . . I was too late.”

“Sometimes, we can’t change what happened but our minds like to recreate a different ending to make better what we experienced. You may have not known about Sapph but she did know you, she knew what you were capable of and what you could do. Whatever she said to you in her last moments, that’s how she really felt about you.”

Owe brokenly smiles. “I think she was trying to call me someone important . . . some who’s—”

“Special?” Ky interjects. “Because you are.”

“Yeah, right. To who?”

She was quiet for a moment, licking in her bottom lip, grazing it with her top teeth before speaking. “Special to me.” He looked up to her once she gave him her warm smile, it seemed to set the world right and made his problems be washed away.

From outside of the tent, Ky heard her dad calling and she stood up. Owe watched. “You going back out there?”

Ky nods. “Yeah, I think you should too. Haven’t seen your mom in how many years? I think it’s time to catch up, Mr. Rogers.” She teased and that made him smile, getting up after her and they both wandered out.

The sky turned a dim shade of blue, the sun setting the the horizon and Ky seen her dad walking up to her with a cautious look on his face. It worried her a bit.

“Carina, you know where Deedee is?”

“‘Deedee’?”

“Oh, yeah. Um, sorry. Teresa.” Lee remarks. “You seen her anywhere?”

Ky glanced around, thinking about it. “She may be with Thomas, why?”

“I just wanted to apologize to her, about how we left things years ago. Do you mind going to search for her? Lucas is in visiting Brenda with Jorge and I didn’t want to intrude.”

“Yeah sure, no problem.”

She heads off, roaming around for her older sister and spotted the Gladers up on the one ridge, peering over down at the Islers, Aris, Sonya, Harriet, and the Right Arm workers who began clearing their things out since they were on the move in the morning. Ky asks them if they had seen Teresa at all and Newt pointed out that she was on the rock structure and that Thomas had just gone up to go and talk with her.

She thanks them, heading on up in the path that Thomas had taken, scaling up the structure of the rock that was easy yet a challenge since there was numerous turns that she had to take. Ky makes it up, overhearing Thomas asking if Teresa was okay. She doesn’t answer him, just gives him a look and looks back over the vast landscape. He then asks what she’s doing, her answering with a simple, “just thinking”.

“Okay, I’ll just leave you alone.” Thomas turns to leave but Teresa looks back at him.

“You remember your mother?”

He stops, trying to think. “Uh . . . I think so.”

Teresa rotates her body around, facing him completely. “I remember mine. She was a beautiful woman. Everybody loved her. And before WCKD, when my dad was a Marine working in some other country, she was all that we had.” She pauses.

Ky listened in, slowly creeping up to listen in more. “When she got sick, we just kept her locked up. Hidden. I thought she'd get better. Every night, she'd make these awful sounds, like screaming. Ky couldn’t sleep so, I’d . . I’d have to sing her asleep whenever Dad couldn’t. And then, one night, she just stopped. She was finally quiet. Dad, Ricky, and I, we . . . we went down to her room. And there was blood everywhere.” She sniffled, tears filling her eyes as her voice wavered. “But she was just sat there, calm. She said she was feeling better. The visions were gone. She'd taken care of them. She took her eyes out, Thomas.”

“Teresa,” Ky softly speaks, stepping up and standing next to Thomas, watching her older sister cry. “That actually happened?”

She nodded. “It’s why I joined WCKD . . . There are millions of people suffering out there. Millions of stories, just like ours. We can't turn our backs on them. I won’t.”

Thomas then takes a step forwards, stammering. “Wha . . What are you saying?”

Teresa blinks, releasing her tears. “I'm saying, I want you to understand. Especially you, Ky.”

“Understand what?”

She then gulped, looking guilty. “Why I did it.”

In the background, in the off distance, Thomas and Ky both stopped lights in the sky that were coming directly for them. It was WCKD helicopters, and they were coming for all of them.  “Teresa . . .” Thomas uttered, breathing heavily and placed himself in front of Ky.

She frowned, crying out, “Please don't fight them, Thomas. Ky, please don’t hate this. This is the right thing to do.”

“What have you done?” Thomas scolds her. “What have you done?” He speaks louder. “Ky, go! We need to warn them, go!”

She turns, making way through through the jagged rocks while Thomas followed after in a hurry. Teresa watch the both of them go, turning back to watch the helicopters approach while Ky and Thomas ran like mad hornets, trying to out beat the flying piece of machinery and yelling to try and capture anyone’s attentions and they began their run up the ridge’s incline.

Ky glanced up, seeing that the one helicopter had rockets on the bottom, the one readying for launch. “NO!” She screamed, pushing her harder but it was no use.

The rocket deployed, coursing down into the Right Arm’s base, making a massive explosion of fire burning bright as it formed a cloud of fire, billowing up as they both peered down. The other helicopter coming up, sending another and another fiery destruction happens, causing everyone and every little thing to go in chaos.

This was it. The great and terrible thing. Right Arm being blown to smithereens and WCKD standing tall and mighty.


	14. PART 2, CHAPTER 8: The Survivors

Janson gazed down at the crowded people, them clamoring to grab guns and any kind of weapons to help fend themselves. He holding the mic on his headset closer to his mouth, ordering for the WCKD guards to drop down and round them all up. They do as they’re told, dropping down on wires and pulled on cords that released them as they cocked their Launchers, shooting at every single person.

Mary, Diego, and a few other members of Right Arm were shot down, WCKD running up on them with Launchers at the aim and ordering for them not to move. Mary listened, holding out her hand in a surrender while Janson watched from above, grinning. He certainly remembered Mary and this, oh this for him was like sweet sweet revenge that was being served on a golden trimmed plate.

Lee was Linda, Ramona, with the Islers all except Ky, Des, Jess, and James. “Where’s Ky?!” He shouts over the noises, taking out his gun that he had on him and began firing.

“Anyone see her?!”

“No!” Anne frowned, her eyes frantically moving about to find her friend as she stayed close to her two moms.

Over on the other side, Vince was in the back of a pickup truck that had a machine gun attached in the bed of it. He was ducking down, taking shots, and yelling to Harriet for more ammo. She rounded up the boxes and Newt, Minho, and Frypan ran over to join them.

“How can we help?” Frypan asks.

“You need to cover us!” Harriet retorts, placing of the ammunition boxes in the back near the machine gun.

Vince fires away on coming WCKD guards, gunning them down and passes the shotgun down to Minho. “You know how to work this thing?!” He nods, cocking the gun. Vince then grabs the one box that Harriet placed up by him, opening it and took out a strip of bullets. “Cover me! This fifty's our only chance!”

Harriet then gives a rifle to Newt and a handgun to Fry, them running over on the other side of the car while her and Minho had the other. They began firing at the guards, buying Vince time to load up the machine gun.

With Thomas and Ky, they both ran down to the battle, heading straight for the tent that Brenda was in because Thomas was worried that she was still in there, sleeping. Or worse, trapped. They turned the corner, seeing the whole thing engulfed in flames.

“Brenda?!” Thomas yells, his mind already racing a million miles per hour of pure nightmarish thoughts.

From behind, he’s whipped around by Brenda herself looking alive and well. She was dressed up in warm clothes, wearing a sniper rifle on her shoulder. “You dumbass.” She remarks.

“Come on!” Jorge loudly whispers from where he hid.

Brenda yanks on Thomas’s  jacket and he quickly grabs Ky by the hand so she wouldn’t be left behind. They sprint over, ducking down behind a few containers, peering over the tops to see all the carnage that was happening. “You trying to get yourselves killed?” She eyes the two teenagers.

More explosions went off that shook the ground, people still screamed, running around while WCKD went after. Jorge shakes his head. “We have to go. Now, while we still have the chance.”

Ky shakes her head. “We can’t.”

Thomas agrees. “She’s right. We gotta go find the others.” He goes to stand, Ky as well, but Jorge captures their sleeves in hastily fashion.

“No! Look!” He sits them down. “Look.” Jorge points out, showing the Gladers shooting the guns they were given as they stood with Vince and Harriet. “You can't help them.”

Ky’s eyes wandered around, trying to find the Islers but couldn’t see where they were which frightened her.

The Islers began running pass a tent that was on fire but a few stopped when they heard a voice coming from within it. Bia turned, listening in again. “Help me!” The person cries.

She automatically knew who it was. “No, no. Jess!” Bia begins charging up to the tent but it sparked up into a bigger inferno, the heat unbearable to even take a few steps closer. “Jess!”

“Bia!” She screams, caught in the blaze on the ground with two severely injured legs from whenever the rocket struck the ground and the flames set fire to her jeans before she was able to put it out. Her nerves were shot, unable to move her singed lower half.

Jess army crawled, desperate to get out of the sweltering hotness that was making her sweat out all the water from her body. She breathed in crisp air that wasn’t toxic from the flames, trying to move faster and faster. Suddenly, it becomes too much and she knows that she won’t be able to make it.

“Bia!” She calls out again, lifting up her body for a moment and once she breathed in that smoke, it made her nauseous, coughing and falling back down on the dirt floor.

“Jess?!”

“I’m not going to make it.” Jess rolls onto her back, staring up at the blazing tent. “Normally, people die by the smoke from inhaling it but since I’m down on the ground, where the gases and particles aren’t, my time will come by the fire itself.” She pauses. “My organs will reach their boiling point and explode . . . The muscles, they’ll dry up, wither, and burn away. And if the fire is even more intense, the proteins that bind the minerals in the bones will burn away as well, leaving me to nothing but ashes.”

She stands there, listening to the girl that meant a whole lot to her—who was her entire world. It was upsetting, and something that Bia never wanted to hear come from her mouth. Ever. “Jessie . . .”

“Go! Don’t be reckless, alright?” She coughs. “I love you, Bee.”

Bia sniffled, her heart being squeezed in the palm of Jess’s hand. “And I love you even more.” She turns away, running to go back with being her group and during on the run, the tent spontaneously combusts. It all over, all gone.

“Vince! Hurry up! There’s too many of them!” Newt shouts, trying to reload his sniper rifle while Frypan ran out of clips.

“I’m out!”

Vince finally gets the gun in order, rushing around to the back of it to man it until he sees a small cylinder fly back into the bed underneath him. He darts his eyes down, instantly knowing that it was a Launcher grenade and yells out, “Shit” in a sort of battle cry. The grenade ticks down, the cylinder bursting into a huge electricity ball that strikes them all down.

WCKD moves on in, disarming and picking them up from the ground to get them all in line up with the others but it’s instantly ruined when the Islers come in and start defending them all with Lee, Ramona, and Linda. Ramona shot down a few with Lee’s gun that he had given her while Lee decided to go down the old fashion route of hand-to-hand combat.

More guards came over, shooting at the group with their Launchers and around threw a grenade, them all being electrocuted and falling down. It was a hot moment of blazing glory of the Islers and their family but it fell very short.

From above, Janson watched, seeing Lee and instantly remembered him which earned a bigger grin on his face. He glances over to the pilot, nodding. “Alright. Take me down.” The pilot nodded, directing the helicopter around and went to find a landing spot.

Back behind the barrels and bins, Ky and Thomas watched as their friends, their family, was being lined up with the others and they both had to turn since they were internally freaking out. Thomas a tad more than Ky by cursing under his breath.

Jorge frowned down at the both of them. “I'm sorry. There’s just nothing you two can do for them. If we don’t move now, we won’t be much better off.”

Thomas slowly eyed Ky and just by her look, he knew what needed to be done. “You guys gotta go right now.”

Brenda furrowed her brow. “What?”

“They’re not looking for you. They’re after us. You’ll be safe, but you have to go now.”  

“Thomas . . .” Brenda slowly trailed off, her eyes going to Ky.

She shakes her head. “I just got my dad back . . My brother . . They’ve been looking for me for a long time and they never gave up. And my friends, Thomas’s friends, they were our family when we didn’t remember anything . . . We can’t leave without them.”

Brenda and Jorge are both quiet, thinking over what Ky had just said and it made sense to the point that they couldn’t argue it back. Instead, Jorge gave a nod, whispersing, “Good luck to you both.” He then tapped Brenda’s shoulder. “Bren, we have to go.” She doesn’t move, just stays in place, looking helpless. “Come on. Come on.” Finally Brenda gets up, taking the one sniper rifle with her, leaving Ky and Thomas behind.

Heavy breathing ensued and Thomas turned to Ky, trying to think of what to do and Ky felt something hitting her thigh as she tried to move to peer over the top. She spotted a bag that Jorge must’ve left behind and rummaged through it to see devices with wire strapped to them. From what she seen and expected, her gut told her that it was some kind of explosive.

Withdrawing it from the bag, she speaks his name in a warning. “Thomas.” He peers down, seeing sight of it and that’s when his idea hit.

Janson strolls up to the line up, seeing half of the guards scanning the tattoos on the back of every kid and others piling up the guns all in one pile to make sure that no one could sneak a grab a one. A guard brings James on over, sitting him right down besides Sonya and Aris. His meets with before looking away, eyeing a guard that had a clipboard, taking note of all the subjects they had.

“How many did we get?”

“All of them. Give or take.”

“Give or take what?” Janson wanders up and over to where the Gladers and other Islers were, scanning their faces.

“Well, they lost a few.”

Janson makes eye contact with Lucas who was kneeled down by Anne. “But we gained those who left us.” He grins. “Like Mr. Archi Agnes here.”

“It’s Lucas Murphy.”

“Course it is.” Janson roams his eyes again before finding Lee and strolls on over. “Lee, been a long time since I’ve seen you. You know, your buddy’s been wondering if you were making it alright out here all by yourself.”

“Send him my regards,” Lee snarled. “Bet he’ll be proud of you for capturing his son.” He remarks sarcastically, Janson knew it.

“On the contrary, he’ll actually be very pleased to know that his son will be safe with us. Can’t say the same about you though, can we?” His eyes then roamed, trying to find the girl since he knew that she was there with them from what Teresa had said on the call to them. He glances all around, not being able to seek her out. “Where’s Ky?” He also notices another missing. “And Thomas?”

“Right here.” Thomas strolls out all by himself, hands raised in surrender and Janson smirks at the sight of him while two WCKD guard rush over, aiming their Launchers at him and told him to freeze.

Lee gives a worried glance to Lucas. “She’s alright.” His son utters to him. “She’s still here, close by.”

“Twin thing?”

Lucas nods. “Twin thing.”

Thomas is led down by the one guard, walking past Diego, Nicoletta, Mary, Owe, and Vince. He stands right in front of Janson who gives him a casual greeting then a fist to the gut, sending Thomas down onto his knees with a grunt. Guards grabbed him, sitting him down in between Lucas and Minho while the helicopter from above whirs; trying to find any other person that they might’ve missed. The one pilots radios down, saying that they weren’t finding anyone.

Janson radios back. “And what about Subject C-one? Any sight?”

“Not that I’m seeing, sir.”

“Okay.” He hangs up, looking over at the young man with the clipboard, and took strides up to him in order to whisper, “Bring her in.”

Back behind a vehicle, Ky watched through one of the dusty windows, peering out and hovered once once the helicopter spotlight panned over. She hides in the shade, moving slowly to try not be in the line of sight. Once it disappears, she leans back up, watching and counted up all of her friends, noticing that Jess was missing as well as Des and—

Someone sneaks up from behind, wrapping their left hand over her chest and the right hand over the mouth in a quick fashion. Their mouth is directly placed right up against her ear, whispering, “It’s me, shush. It’s me, it’s me. Shush.”

Ky controls her breathing, muscles relaxing and the body slowly stops struggling for a moment. From the corner of her eyes, she spots James and she calms herself even more. He gently removes his hand from her lips, releasing her body, and apologizes for the grab. He eyes where everyone was lined up, tisking. James knew this was a complete bad thing; he never wanted this and yet, it was happening. If only there had been more time.

A Berg travels in, hovering over a landing spot which swirls up the sand, causing the people to raise their hands to cover their faces. It then lowers to the ground with gentle ease, the cargo hold door opening vertically and rests down on the earthy ground. Four WCKD guards stood with their Launchers, exiting down the ramp with a woman dressed in pure white following after. James automatically knew it was Ava Paige.

She marches with the guards until they part away, having her go first and straight up to where Janson stood. Her eyes search the crowd. “Is this all of them?” She requested.

“Most of them. It'll be enough.”

Another look at the kids, she gives the okay. “Start loading them in.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Janson eyes the guard. “Okay, you heard. Let's go! Get 'em on!” They began grabbing at a few Immunes that had worked alongside Right Arm, picking them up from the ground and escorted them up to the Berg.

Ava motioned for one to pick up Thomas and they did so, having him stand to meet face to face with her. He huffs, eyeing her with little to no interest meanwhile she gave him a grim expression. “Hello, Thomas.”

He checks her up and down, not really amused by her greeting while more and more of the Immunes were being packed into the Berg like wild animals in a cage. They were all going back to a place where they wouldn’t be treated like people; a place that they escaped from a long time ago but now being changed all from one small walkie talkie.

Teresa wanders over to where Ava stood with Des, Teresa looking guilty but as for Des, she wore a proud smile. Ava sees the two of them approaching, earning a gentle smile on her face. “I'm glad you're both safe.”

“What the hell?” Bia stands suddenly with Micky, Newt, Quinn, Minho, and Frypan. “Des, why are you with them?”

“The name is Blaire.” She corrects her, standing tall and professional like. “Des was a false name.”

“Wait, what's going on?” Newt ponders, slight confused about the whole ordeal. “Teresa?”

“She’s with them.” Thomas states for him, taking a side look to Bia and the two other Islers that stood with them. “And I’m guessing your friend is too.”

Micky scoffs, eyeing the two girls but mostly Des—or _Blaire_ —as she said she wanted to be called since it was her real name. “Since when?” She demands for an answer. “Why would you do this to us?”

Janson then steps up. “Teresa’s always had an evolved appreciation of the greater good. Once we restored her memories, it was only a matter of time.” He pauses, looking to Blaire. “And Blaire, here, she always had her memories in tact; even in your maze. Always was on our side.”

“My mission was to keep tabs on all of you.” Blaire begins, “To follow you on your journey, and in hopes of you guys taking me to the Right Arm so I could dial up WCKD to come in. And _bless it be_ , I had someone who was given her memories back for me to chat with; to understand that this is for the greater good.”  

“I knew it.” Quinn snarled, shaking their head, “I knew it from the moment we entered that damn facility and she wasn’t weary about it, but rather, acting like it was a second home and trusting your ugly rat face!” They point to Janson.

“Family trusts each other.”

Bia then buts in. “They’re not your family.”

Blaire shook her head. “You’re wrong. He is family.” She motions towards the older man. “He’s my father.”

The three Islers all eyed Janson then Blaire, the similarities noticeable in their eyes and facial structure. Blaire, the girl who used to be called Des, a person who they thought they knew so well—was just a traitor. Everything she pretended that she forgot, everything she told them, it was all complete and total lies. All that time in the maze and she knew the way out, causing them to live there for almost three years before telling Ky to check under the water for a passage.

“Blaire understands the term of loyalty, that’s how I knew she’d be perfect after the other failed us.” Janson remarks casually.

“Other?” Cass glances up since she was still kneeling down on the ground. “There was someone else like her in our Isle? With their moments?”

Janson looks down at her, going to respond until he heard heavy footsteps stumping down to where they were. It was James, standing in his army jacket, giving a hard, unreadable look. He huffs. “Of course, you always did have to make a grand entrance whenever you were mentioned.”

That’s what made the Islers double over once they realized what he meant by that statement.

Janson grins from it. “Dear little ones, maybe your family wasn't so perfect after all.” Defeated, James lowers his head, not wanting to eye anyone nor see them.

“No . . I don’t believe it.” Anne frowns, sitting between her two mothers who held her tightly, daring not to let her go. “James, he’d . . He’d never do that.” She stammers. “R-Right, James?”

He doesn’t answer but Janson does. “He went in, memories full intact, doing his job. He was in your trial for three months, working slow but that’s why we sent in Blaire. To help him out. James and Blaire, they both knew the plan ever since the facility. I figured that the devoted of our cause wouldn’t let us down, and look around! I wasn’t wrong.” He chuckles.

“We trusted you.” Micky says, clearly upset. “We trusted the both of you!”

“I, for one, was always suspicious of her.” Quinn interjects, giving a death glare to Blaire. “James, however, very disappointed.”

Bia nods in agreement. “I think we all are.”

Owe still down on his knees, watching the other Immunes being taken away, his heart began beating faster and faster. He eyes Lucas and Lee who were close to them but still out of reach in order to whisper to. Panic was settling in, his heart feeling like it was being poked at with needles. His vision started to blur in and out, his breathing increasing to the point that he was swaying back and forth.

Mary instantly knows what’s happening. “Jake, sweetie, breathe. Focus on your breathing.”

“What’s happening to him, Mary?” Vince asks, concerned for the boy, already feeling some sort of responsibility for him.

“He has Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia.” Mary rests her hand on Owe’s rest, having him take in deep breaths with her. “He has irregular heartbeat that increases his heart rate. It can make him lose consciousness, be lightheaded, not able to breathe, and get pains in his chest.”

Vince nods, taking note of what she was doing. “Is he going to be okay?”  
She nods, slowly withdrawing her hand away from Owe’s chest as he finally settled back to normal. “Yeah, as long as he’s taken care of . . . closely monitored. He’ll be okay.” Mary checks him out once he gets back to being normal, testing his pulse. “What made you go into a fit?” She ponders.

“Ky . . She’s not here.” Owe glances all around, gulping. “She’s nowhere. And I don’t know where she could be, an-and I’m worried that she . . that she’s going to get taken or that she did by them. And I can’t . . . I can’t let that happen, Mom.” His big doe eyes glistening. “I made her a promise that we’d always stay together. That we’d never leave one another.”

Mary places an arm around him, kissing the side of his head, whispering something into his ear which made Vince curious. She leaned back, giving him another kiss on the head while her eyes drift over, seeing how Lee was spectating her with a kind, gentle manner. He mouths “Is he alright?” to her and she nods in response, thanking him for asking before turning back to the kids.

Lee glanced back too, eyeing his daughter that had sold them out to WCKD, can’t believing that just a few hours ago he was going to apologize for their last bad meet up. He really did want his family back and he was just _this_ close to having it, before it got stripped away once again.

Teresa eyes her peers who looked hurt and even numb, trying to understand why she had done what she did. Her stare then lingers downwards to her little brother Lucas and her dad, both who wore disappointed faces. She tears up. “I’m sorry. I had no choice. This is the only way. We have to find a cure.”

Thomas shakes his head, not accepting her words. Ava adds on. “She’s right. This is all just a means to an end. You used to understand that, Thomas. And Ky—wherever she may be. No matter what you think of me . . . I am not a monster. I’m a doctor. I swore an oath to find a cure!” She declares for everyone to hear her. “No matter the cost. I just need more time.”

“More blood.”

They all turn, seeing Owe’s mother standing with Vince, Diego, Eliza, Nicoletta, and Owe himself, surrounded by a few WCKD guards that were going to escort them away.

“Hello, Mary.” Ava acknowledges her. “I hoped we’d meet again. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”

“I’m sorry about a lot of things, too. But not this. At least my conscience is clear.”

Deadpan, she responds with, “So is mine.”

From where Ky was, setting up a few Jorge’s explosive devices, a shot—followed by a scream—rings out through the night which makes her whip her head right around at the sound. She get up from her squatting position, sneaking and peeking over top of a metal barrel to see that Janson held out a handgun and had it aimed at someone. Her eyes trail over, seeing Mary who was frozen and slowly gazing down at her stomach.

“Mary?!” Vince yells as he’s held back by a guard.

“M-Mom?” Owe sputters out while her body gradually sinks down to their knees. “Mom!” He shouts, diving down besides her and places his hand on her wound, pressing to try and stop the flow of blood. “Mom!”

Ky gasps, covering her mouth and watched in horror as for the second time, Owe was losing another family member. She turns herself back, sliding down onto her butt and began taking in deep breaths as she kept on hearing Owe’s sobs and Vince’s yells in the back. She rests her head back, removing her hand and closing her eyes just open them back up to the starless sky.

She thinks back to her plan that Thomas and her had came up with, feeling a bit rebellious in her anger and grabs one of the detonators, opening the back of it and began rewiring a few things around for the devices to go off by a timer rather than a trigger. Once she sets it up, she grabs another with an device, gripping onto it tightly and stands straight up to watch what was happening below. She waited for an opening.

“Come on, Janson. Load them up. Let’s go. All these people. Get rid of them.” Ava orders.

She turns on her heel and starts towards the Berg with Janson while Teresa was softly crying at what just happened, giving Thomas and her family an apologetic look. Des just shrugged it off, going after her father but for James, he still stood with the Gladers and the three Islers.

Lina, Sonya, Aris, and Hayley are all picked up while they tried fighting off the WCKD guards, being dragged to the Berg. Harriet, Anne, and Nicoletta called out to them, getting up to follow and that’s when Ky figured it was time for her daring notion. She ran straight on down, revealing the device and flipped up the pin, making it beep and the WCKD guards instantly readied their Launchers to shoot at her.

“Everyone, stand back!” She demands.

Janson hauls back, sprinting and yells to the guards for them to hold their fire repeatedly. Owe glances up, seeing her and as much as he wanted to be happy, he couldn’t bring himself to be. His mother, that he was just given back was now dead and gone just like his little sister. Vince stayed directly behind him, hand on his shoulder, whispering for him to stand since Ky was armed with a bomb.

“Stand back. Let ‘em go.” She points to Sonya, Aris, Lina, and Hayley.

“Ky, put it down.” Janson tries to negotiate with her.

“You let them all go!” She screams, hands shaking since she was scared but more determined than anything.

Ava then speaks. “You know I can’t do that!”

“Ky, please stop.” Teresa then makes way up to her baby sister. “They promised—they promised we’d be safe. All of us.”

“Did you think the same when I was going to be placed in the maze?” She genuinely asks, bottom lip quivering and the skin around her eyes turning a light shade of red to try and keep back her tears. “I remember that day! I was crying, I screaming for you to help me and you just watched and left the room. I was terrified, Teresa. And you did nothing to help me.”

Teresa remembered that day too and she knew how emotionally tolling it was on her, took her a whole week to recover since Lucas, Liam, and Ricky were wondering what had happened to their baby sister. That day, Teresa chose to put Ky in that maze for a certain reason and just like now, it was her main reason for choosing to go to WCKD in search for a cure.

“I wasn’t safe at all . . . So how am I supposed to trust you with this?”

“It’s true. It was her only condition.” Ava beckons. “Everything can go back to the way it was.”

“No, it can’t.” A few tears fell from her eyes, her nose sniffling from getting stuffy. “Sapph’s gone . . Jo, Mary, Jennifer, Jordan, Faia . . . There’s no going back to how things used to be . . . You guys made sure of that.”

“Ky . . .” Ava studies her. “Do you really want them all to die?”

“Listen to her, Ky. Think about what you’re doing.” Janson pipes up.

On the left of her, Owe walks up, his face tear stained, pinched, and eyes locked on Ava and Janson. “I think she did. And by how things been, I think we’ll prefer it as well.” Gradually, the remaining Islers got up, standing around Ky and Owe and the Gladers joined in.

Lee and Lucas then got up, enclosing Ky and placed their hands on the bomb as well, letting her know that she wasn’t alone in it. Teresa eyed her family, shaking her head. “No.” She whimpered.

“Don’t.” Ava begs.

“You do it, Ky.” Minho utters.

Frypan nods along. “We’re ready.”

Ky began crying more, looking at her family then her friends from the Isle and the new ones that she just made, including Thomas. She focuses back on Ava, Janson, Des, and Teresa. “We’re not going back.”

“Ky . .” Ava frowns.

“It’s the only way to be free.” She replies, breathing heavily while her thumb hovered the button. Teresa squeezes her eyes shut tight, curling her head down into her shoulder, waiting for the impact of the explosion to consume them all while tears fell from her face. Anne huddled with her Mom and Eemah, hugging them and closed her eyes tight just like everyone else that surrounded them. Lee gave a quick kiss to Lucas and Ky’s heads, wanting to show his kids love in their last moments of having each other.

“Ky!”

A horn blows loud, headlights shining on the group while a vehicle approached at a high speed. They all opened their eyes, seeing one of the army trucks being driven by no one other than Jorge. He gives a shout, driving into crates, barrels, and WCKD guards that tried shooting at the windshield but it had bullet proof glass. He went directly for the helicopter that still had its propellers on, moving, driving straight into the side of it and knocked it over down a small mound. The propellers hit the ground during their rotation, breaking off and flying through that air which made majority of people duck down whereas others weren’t so lucky. Two WCKD guards were hit and so was Bridge and Amirah; all four of them falling to the ground with thuds and no much more movement after that.

Vince and Diego both charge over to where the pile of guns were with Harriet, Nicoletta, and Eliza, picking up the weapons and began firing in a whole out war. Other members of Right Arm began fighting physically, punching and kicking the WCKD guards. Janson made sure that Ava was taken care of as well as Des, making the guards rush them back to the Berg so they wouldn’t get hurt.

Ky gets up, looking at the surrounding Islers and Gladers, asking if they were okay until she heard a Launcher being aimed and cocked at her. “Freeze! Drop it, kid!” With quick thinking, she threw the device behind where the group of them were crowded around and they watched it being tossed.

She shouts, “Run! Get yourselves down!” and dives to the ground, pressing down on the trigger button and covering her head as she heard and felt the explosion.

A puff of white smoke, sparks, and debris flew through the air, raining down and the guards were taken out. She perks up her head, turning herself around see the sight and heard someone that cheered her on for her brilliant time of thinking. Ky turns, seeing that it was her father, Lee, who was right at Diego’s side, firing shotguns with Ramona helped out.

She begins scanning the area, seeing  Harriet, Eliza, and Nicoletta, shooting at every guard while Linda stayed with Anne in hiding. Bia, Micky, Dean, and Carlos were fighting as well, doing their best efforts to save everyone and to try to stop any others from being taken. Quinn and Cass were with Jorge, doing their own thing and Charlie and Samuel were hiding.

A guard sneaks up from behind Ky, ready to shoot at her until someone shoots him, sending the man back to the ground and she turns, seeing the body and tried to look around to see where the shot came from. Her attention was pulled away once James got down besides her, cupping her face and asking if she was alright since she seemed to be in shock. Ky’s eyes lock on his, hypnotized and she furrowed her brows.

“Ky?”

“I heard what Janson said,” she replies, “about you . . .”

He nods. “I know that you have no reason to trust me, especially after what your sister did but please . . . Know that I’m going to make up for all of it.”

James then lends out his hand to her and Ky eyes it for what felt like an eternity. His hand wasn’t just a hand, it was stood for so many things. Strength, power, protection. Generosity, friendship, and stability. Grabbing it, accepting it into hers meant that she telling him it was okay; that it’s all worth it. Maybe it was . . . James did save her life when he could’ve just let her die, and he did help Sapph, Cass, and Owe all out. Maybe James did deserve some type of forgiveness.

On her final thought, Ky placed her hand into James’s and he helped her on up, rushing her out of Vince’s way as he started up the machine gun in the back of his truck and rapid fired at the guards who began chasing the two teenagers. Some still manage to shoot at them with the Launchers, the darts that sparkled with electricity flying pass their heads and bodies.

“James, have you seen Owe?” Ky asks in the middle of their running.

He shakes his head. “No!” He yells over the gunfire. “You seen your brother? Lucas?”

Ky instantly halts in her running, turning her whole body around and began looking around hastily. “I don’t see him. Neither of them.” That when panic then settled in. “Lucas?! Owe?!” She screams.

With the Gladers, Minho picked up at rifle, cocking it and shouts for Newt, Frypan, Cass, Micky, Chloe, Dean, and Carlos to get out of there. They all nodded, following along as he began firing at the oncoming guards. Thomas then runs up with Mads, Quinn, and Charlie, passing by Minho as he still continued to fire his rounds.

Vince began firing up at the one helicopter, hoping it’d either fly away or even better, get ruined and crash down. Over with Lee, he heard a yell coming from behind him and he glanced back, seeing how Anne was being taken away from Linda. He cleared his throat, pointing and aiming at the guard to hit them but more guards began firing at him and Diego. They crouched down, trying to keep themselves safe and Lee just couldn’t do nothing but watch Linda being torn away from her child once again.

“Mom!” Anne kicked, trying to reach her with desperation.

“Emma!” She to go after her but the guards kept firing, trying to keep her bay. Ramona sees this from where she was at, trekking over and pulled Linda back though it pained her to do so. “Mona, what are you doing?! They’re taking Emma!”

“We’ll be no used to her if we’re dead, Lin. I’m sorry but this time, we have no choice but to let her go.” She cried as she forced the words out of her mouth, them tasting like rubber and oil.

Anne wasn’t the only one that was captured, Minho was shot down by a Launcher, the guards grabbing him while Thomas tried to run back for him but Newt and Frypan stopped him from doing so. However, when Ky seen Anne being taken, she full on sprinted, hollering for her while the guards tried retreating back to the Berg but still managed to shoot to keep them back from the aircraft.

“Anne!” She pleaded for her friend. “Anne!”

“Ky!” James yells from behind.

From the left, she seen Owe taking a stroll to the Berg with Janson that held the upper top of his shoulder that had been shot. Owe looked sad and that made Ky not understand why he was with him.

She pauses in her running, skidding to a stop. “Owe, what are you doing?!”

He looks up to her, taking in a deep breath before glancing to Janson then back at her. “I have to do what’s right.” Owe begins in a voice that didn’t sound like his, as if someone was speaking for him. “And this is it.”

“Owe, you’re . . . You’re not serious.”

“I have to do this, Ky. Believe me.” His voice raised, being hostile. “I need to save people, there shouldn’t have to be more unwanted deaths. If I can prevent it, then I’m going to do what’s needed of me.”

“Owe, you . . You’re actually going to do this?” Ky teared up once again for the night. “After everything . . . Even our promise?”

Owe then snapped, his voice stern and threatening. “You’re always so emotional! Every single time something happens, you let your emotions get the best of you! And me doing this? It’s MY decision. Yeah, we made a promise, but the thing is is that everything had changed! You’re . . You’re just worming yourself around in everything because you feel like you need to be apart of everything! You’re like a . . . You’re like a parasite!”

Devastated, Ky steps back, crying and James gently places a hand on her shoulder, watching while Owe, Janson, and the rest boarded the Berg. The jets turn on, the door of the cargo hold drawing to a close while Owe stood next to Teresa, Blaire, and Ava. Once the hold was sealed, the Berg lifted off into the sky, flying away and it caused the remaining Immunes of Right Arm to cheer but as for the ones who had lost their friends, their family, it was a quake of obliteration.

 

The ruins of the Right Arm was eerily silent as dawn broke. The air was filled with white smoke and numerous dead bodies that laid around in the wake of a ruthless war. The Right Arm covered them all up with sheets, giving them some type of burial without actually digging them into the hard scorched earth. Nicoletta and Diego, they had even found dead Islers that were caught in the fallout like Sarah, Jess, and Bridge.

The leftover Islers like Mads, Sasha, Chloe, Micky, Charlie, Dean, and Carlos; they were all helping Newt and Frypan search for any cans of food, weapons, anything that could be useful and in good shape to take and carry with them to the safe haven.

As for the many others, they were counting their losses and treating their wounds. A heavy cloud of sorrow hang in the air like a disease, everyone mourning the loss of the loved ones that WCKD had taken away. Lee tried consoling Ramona and Linda but he felt guilty because he was lucky enough to keep his two children whereas they couldn’t even have theirs. He hated it, it was incredibly unfair but there was nothing that he could’ve done more; Ramona even told him that.

Quinn sat off on the side, their head in their hands and taking deliberately deep breaths so they didn’t work themselves into a panic attack. So many of the people they cared about were gone or dead. All the people that died in the Maze. Sapph. Jo. Sarah. Bridge. Jess. Hayley. Lina. And now Anne was gone too. WCKD took everything from Quinn. Their memories, their family, their own goddamn name. But through all that, she’d had Anne.

But they’d taken her too. And now Quinn had nothing.

“Hey.” A voice drew Quinn out of their stupor, and they were surprised to see Cass standing in front of them. She twiddled her hands nervously, not quite meeting Quinn’s eyes. “I didn’t think . . . you should be alone. Can I sit?”

Quinn didn’t answer out loud, just gestured to the spot next to them on the beat up couch, looking back down at their lap. The couch sunk beneath Cass’s weight and it was silent for a moment before she spoke up again. “Are you okay?” At Quinn’s incredulous look, Cass quickly recovered. “Dumb question. What I should ask is if you want to help make a plan to get Owe, Hayley, Lina, and Anne back?”

Quinn sighed, offering Cass a half smile. “Thanks, but . . . Owe’s a traitor and they could be dead already. How are we going to rescue them from a multi-billion dollar company protected by heavy security with the added benefit of a bounty on our heads?” Too late, Quinn realized their voice had raised, and Cass was looking slightly startled. They lowered their head. “Sorry.”

“I get it, Quinn,” Cass said, sitting up and gently resting her hand on Quinn’s knee. “I mean—I don’t, Micky’s still here, but I get that it sucks. But we’re gonna show WCKD they screwed over the wrong people.” Quinn nodded, the tears that they’d been holding back slipping down their cheeks.

Without another word, Cass pulled Quinn into her shoulder, wrapping her arms around them and comfortingly rubbing their back. “I’m gonna kill them,” Quinn whispered as their tears slipped off their cheeks onto Cass’s skin. “I’m gonna kill _every last one of them._ ” Cass said nothing, just rested her chin on Quinn’s head.

“Come on,” Cass said after a moment. “Let’s get back to the others, yeah?” Gently leading Quinn over to the group by the hand, Quinn’s grief was replaced with something else entirely. Rage.

Ky was scanning a section to try and find anything but heard someone calling out weakly from underneath a board and tarp. She lifted it up, shifting it over and seen Bia being morally injured, coughing up blood while her face was smeared in ash.

“Bia.” She gaped, trying to lift a up metal scraping off of her but Bia tells her stop from it hurting, causing her more pain and she quickly does, apologizing. “What happened?”

“The guards tried taking Samuel,” she then side glances over, Ky looking to where she pointed to see Samuel’s dead body, laying in a heap of broken crates. “I ran after to save her and out of nowhere, everything around us just began exploding like we triggered something. She got died instantly and I, I got pinned.”

Ky automatically knew what happened, feeling remorse from her setup of Jorge’s devices that she set to a timing standard. She felt her sadness dwelling on her but paused, demanding her body to feel and drown in grief.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Bia whispers and Ky, little by little, glanced down the older teen with stinging eyes. “I’m dying, Ky. Everyone does eventually.” She huffs a laugh, her voice slowly swinging into a southern accent. “I remember being born in raised in Georgia, having a momma and a daddy, and siblings. We used to play tee ball in our backyard, having fun. My father, he told me that death isn’t something to be scared of, it’s a way a life. The only scary thing about it is doing it alone. We were born in this world with people surrounding us and we end up going out of it all by our lonesome.” She takes in a shaky breath, eyeing Ky, and smiles again which shows her bloody covered teeth. “Sapph was faithful that I was with her . . . But I couldn’t do the same for Jess, and not for Samuel.”

“Bia . .”

“I’m glad you’re here.” She says sincerely. “I’m glad I don’t have to do this alone.”

Ky sniffled, reaching down and held her hand tightly. “I’m glad I’m here too.”

“Promise me, you’ll get them back. All of them, even Owe and Blaire . . . We don’t turn our backs on family. I wished I knew that sooner than later.”

Ky nods repeatedly. “I promise.”

“You bring them home.”

Bia’s grip then began loosening on Ky’s, easing up as she drew in one last breath and closed her eyes. Her chest fell short and her hand slipped, resting down next to her. Ky frowned, blinking her tears away and grabbed the tarp, pulling it over her body. She stands up, going over to Samuel’s body and does the same before heading back to where the group was.

Jorge, Brenda, Vince, Harriet, Newt, Frypan, Chloe, Cass, Micky, James, Dean, Carlos, Diego, Eliza, Nicoletta, Lee, Linda, Ramona, Lucas, Sasha, Charlie, Quinn, and Mads were all watching Thomas. He was standing up, slinging a bag onto his shoulder and tightening the straps while he peers down at Vince since he standing on higher ground.

“I’m not going with you. I made a promise to Minho. I wouldn't leave him behind. I have to go after him.”

Vince shakes his head. “Hey, kid, look around you. Alright?” He signals to the mass destruction that surrounded them all. “WCKD just kicked our ass. You think about where you're headed.”

“I’m not asking anyone to come with me.”

Newt then steps up to him, looking him up. “Thomas, listen to me. I’ve known Minho for . . . Well, as long as I can remember. So, if there was any way that we could help him . . . trust me, I would be up there standing next to you.” He pauses. “This, what you’re talking about . . . is impossible.”

“More like suicide.” Jorge corrects.

“It’s murder for them if we don’t go.” Ky speaks and everyone was now eyeing her as she stepped down, wandering to where Thomas was standing to side with him. Metaphorically and physically. “No one is ever truly safe with WCKD out there, and who says that they won’t end up finding the safe haven within a two year time? We lost a lot of people because of what WCKD had done. It's never just doing to be about one person, it’s more than that.”

Thomas agrees, adding onto what Ky just said. “It’s about all of us. It’s about everyone WCKD’s ever taken, everyone they will take. They’ll never stop.” He softly nods. “They’ll never stop, so I’m gonna stop them. I’m gonna kill Ava Paige.”

“I have to admit . . . I’d like some revenge.” Harriet nudges Vince before glancing back at Nicoletta and Eliza, both of them having been in WCKD’s Trials as well. “I think we all do.”

Vince peers up to Thomas and Ky, eyeing them both and seemed impressed by their abilities to lead. “Well, that’s a good team effort speech, kids. So, what’s your plan?”

They both eyed each other, thinking it through and it was pretty much clear from the get go. They were going to do what needed to be done for a long time and that was to take down WCKD.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for MissMaier for helping out with the Cass x Quinn conversation sequence :)


	15. PART 3, CHAPTER 1: Hope is Burning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From the Isle to the Scorch, the Islers and the Gladers embark on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends that were taken, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all.

_Tick, tick, tick._ The pocket watch sounds with every passing second, Jorge staring down at it while Brenda sat in the passenger’s seat next to him. He gives off a deep sigh before closing the watch, grumbling, “they’re late”. Brenda places to hers that she wore around her wrist, turning her stare out the window, overlooking the ravine; at the shrubs and miles of dirt, grassy areas, and cliffs.

From the left, they hear a train horn blaring which sets in the motion for Quinn to sit up from the back, in between the two of them with a huge grin. “No. Just fashionably late.”

Jorge grins, facing the two and Brenda grabs her rifle from where her feet were and Quinn sets back, readying their own gun and cocked it. Jorge starts up the vehicle's engine, hoisting up his own makeshift metal cover for the window that’d deflect bullets for whenever he was shot at. He gives a glance back over his shoulder at Quinn then lingers to Brenda; once they give him the signal that they’re ready, he revs the engine before driving straight off the ledge.

The truck travels up, curving along sides the WCKD train that was carrying Immunes on the inside. The engine begins revving again while Jorge presses on the gas, driving up to the conducting cart, wanting to capture the attention of the guards. The WCKD guards on the inside see them, just like how they wanted, not knowing that on the other side of them was another vehicle that Vince drove with Thomas in the passenger’s seat and Ky in the back.

Thomas lifts up his walkie talkie, shouting into it over the sounds of the truck. “Brenda, Quinn, we’re coming up from behind! Keep ‘em busy!”

Brenda hangs up on the talkie, glancing back at Quinn. “Ready?”

“For a long ass while now.” They nod to her.

The both readied their guns, perking up onto their seats, and popped their heads out of the sun roof. They take aim at the window, making sure they had their target and shot. The WCKD guards duck down, instantly calling in the code for their problem and Quinn and Brenda both lowered themselves down back into the car.

Once they do, like the moment they did, guards came out with their guns, shooting at the truck and they all ducked. The vehicle swerved but Jorge got it under control, taking out his handgun and aimed it through his metal window shield, shooting at one guard.

Vince goes for the lining on the train tracks, warning for the two teens to hang on and they do. The truck ramps upwards and onto the path, the wheels wobbling which made the car jerk up and down vigorously. Vince looks to the kids. “This crazy, you guys!”

Thomas glances back at Ky, seeing if she was ready and upon seeing that she was, he unbuckled himself. Carefully, he held up onto the sunroof lifting his leg on the hood of the car and got up while Ky transferred into his seat next to Vince.

He grabbed the rope in front of the windshield, using it to anchor himself onto the hood and lifted up on the grappling hook. “Get me closer!” Vince floors the gas pedal, the car moving up near the back of the train and Thomas hooks the car to the back of the train before jumping off and landing on the one ladder. He turns back, holding out his one hand. “Ky!”

Instead of what Thomas did, she stands up front the sunroof, sliding down the windshield and outstretches her hand to try and reach him. Vince pops himself out, still manning the wheel to make sure that it wouldn’t go anywhere and eyed the weary girl who was trying her best to grab Thomas’s hand.

The wheel in the front, on the right side busts, tipping the car and Ky loses her footing. She falls down, about to slide off when Vince captures her ankle, drawing her backwards. “Hurry up, kid!”

Ky nods, standing back up and Thomas reached out more than before, putting himself in risk of getting hurt and she finally caught onto his hand. He pulls her forwards as she jumps, landing on the cart and placing herself around the other side of the ladder so she wouldn’t be close to the edge.

Vince gets up on the roof, the wire that was connected to the hook loosening which dragged the vehicle backwards, making the gap between the two machines bigger than before. “Jump!” Thomas shouts because that was the only thing to do at this point in time. He studies the gap for a moment, running and pressing off on his right. He just barely hits ground but makes it, clutching onto the other ladder and pulling himself up.

The hook gets knocked off, Ky witnessing it. “Look out!” She yells, hunkering down.

He and Vince turn. “Oh, shit!” The men cover up as the car flips forwards and tumbles over upside down, debris flying all over.

The three get up, all eyes on the car that they were just in until Vince points out a Berg that was following behind the train; approaching. It began unsheathing its guns, lingering off and getting in line behind Jorge’s truck.

Ky reaches into her pocket, pulling out her own walkie talkie, pressing down on the one button to radio in. “Hey, Quinn, you guys gained some company!” She then let off the button, seeing how the Berg’s gun then took fire at the truck. Jorge swerved, trying to avoid the blows, trailing off back to the ridge that was off to the left. The Berg tracking it down.

_“Ky,”_ Quinn’s voice booms from the speaker. _“You guys are on your own. Try and not die.”_

Ky shook her head, amused. “Not until we get our Anne back.” She pauses. “Good luck.” She places her walkie into her pocket, climbing up after Thomas on the ladder.

Vince, Thomas, and Ky ran on the tops of the containers like how they had for the past few months, used to the momentum of the train and eventually knew that the WCKD guards would be coming after them. And they were. Ahead, the boys spotted them and paused once they reached the train link that was needed to be disconnected. Ky quickly gets down from the top of the container, reaching the connector and began taking out the explosive bags. She began compacting them in and around the metal hook while Vince and Thomas got down with her, shooting at the oncoming guards.

Ky glanced off to the side, seeing how they were passing a huge structure of rock and grinned. She focused back, placing the spark into the one bag. Thomas calls out to her, and she nods up at him. “We’re set! Take cover boys!” She gets up, lingering onto the side ladder of the train, Thomas hopping on next to her while Vince went on the other side.

The WCKD guards got themselves down, making way towards the gang and began firing. Ky eyed the spike, seeing how it released the white smoke, signaling that it was ready. She shut her eyes, turning her face into Thomas’s chest as the explosion erupted, blasting the guards back onto their backs while the front of the train kept on chugging along. The sectioned part that contained the Immunes stalled on its breaks, riding out the momentum along the tracks with a loud squeak of the wheels; skidding to a stop.

Vince and Thomas jumped off, running ahead by a few feet, inspecting the train as it kept on traveling, seeing how much distance would be placed in between them until it came to its own stop. The train starts slowing down about a mile up and Thomas let out a whistle, gazing off to the left. Newt pops up from behind a rock with Micky, both with bags on their backs, grinning.

“Newt! Mick!” Vince waves for them to hurry and come on over.

“Alright, come on! Let’s go!” Newt looks over his shoulder at nearby rocks where the others had hid in waiting. Charlie, Dean, Nicoletta, Eliza, Ramona, and two other Immune boys that they rescued from three months back pop up with their guns, heading up to where Thomas and Vince was.

Ky banging on the containers, screaming out for Lina, Hayley, and Anne while Thomas was searching for Minho. Her heart pounded, trying to listen in for her friends and yells since there was no time to actually gaze in and manually search with sight—hearing would have to do.

“Ky!” Thomas hollers and she glances over. “It’s this one!”

Her heart instantly filled with joy, seeing how Newt and Micky ran up, Thomas telling them that the container that they need that holds their friends was the very one that was in front of him. Newt and Micky nod, both readying the goggles over their eyes and turning on the welding machines.

“Shit.” Ky overhears Vince, glancing over to see how WCKD guards were already on their way with guns. “It’s gonna be close.”

“Nothing us women can’t handle.” Ramona cocks her shotgun while Charlie readies her pistol and Nicoletta with her rifle. They take stances, beginning to fire. Eliza and Dean both crawl on top of the container, perching up high with their weapons, and take aim at the guards as well, firing to help out and buy Newt and Micky more time.

Jorge’s truck flies over the mound, landing down with Brenda and Quinn whooping with smiles on their faces while the Berg was still on their trail. Jorge glanced in the rear view mirror, seeing them still following and nodded.

“We got ‘em! We got ‘em!”

He continued to drive through the landscape, heading directly for a roundabout passage that went in between two mountain sides. Jorge turns, the back wheels of the vehicle whipping around and the three of them coming face to face with the Berg that stares them down as it hovered the ground.

_“Step out of the vehicle with your hands up.”_ The pilot announces through the speakers, the Berg lowering with its craft lands.

Jorge and Brenda turn to give each other a look before darting back to Quinn. The three all see the cargo hold of the Berg opening and that prompts them to walk on out, hands raised up next to their heads and casually strolling out in front of the car. The WCKD guards had their guns at the ready, aimed, and prepared to shoot.

“Stop right there. Don’t move.” The one up in front orders as he pauses in his walking. Jorge, Brenda, and Quinn all take steps back and that makes the guards take two steps forwards. “I said freeze, asshole!”

Jorge then smugly shrugs. “Whatever you say, hermano.” Right then, Brenda and Quinn give waves to the guards, fluttering their fingers in a mocking tone.

A spring of wire pops up, making all the guards instantly look down at where they were standing and two fall down in a pit that they had set up as a trap while another just fell from his one foot standing on top of the false floor. The remaining three guards lift up their guns but Jorge pulls a fast one, taking out his handgun, Brenda and Quinn doing the same while the others that were hiding out spring into action as well.

Frypan comes out from under a tarp that was next to an old, rusted car, cocking his shotgun and aiming it. “Ya’ll don’t wanna do that now.” Carlos comes up next to Jorge with a rifle, Cass and Sasha with shotguns, and Diego with a Launcher that he hijacked from the last round up they had with WCKD guards.

“Hey, Fry.” Brenda smiles to him. “Carlos, Cass, Sash, Diego.”

“Good to see you guys.” Fry remarks with a grin then eyes the guard. “Go on, back up.”

From within the Berg, the pilot seen how they were being rounded up and he turns, face in sweat, about to escape until he seen the end of a revolver barrel in front of his face. His shaky eyes glance up as the pin is cocked, seeing Harriet holding it with a sincere smile. “Hi.”

The man lingers up, seeing two other boys behind her. One was eyeing the screens, typing in a few things and the other just stared at him, kneeling down right next to Harriet. “We’ll like to borrow your Berg.” James smirks.

Ky and Thomas were helping Vince with attaching straps to the tops of the containers, securing them to make sure that they wouldn’t break as the guards kept on shooting at them. Ky glances over and down at Micky, seeing her still working on the latch that kept the container in place on the trolly.

Thomas does the same. “Newt, how you guys doing?”

“Don’t rush neither one of us.” Newt remarks.

More shots rang out, one almost hitting Ky but she drops down onto her stomach, the bullet missing her. “Well, we’re not gonna have a lot of time!” She shouts while Vince gets down, standing right next to Nicoletta and helped them with trying to fend off the guards.

“Everyone, on the container! Now!” Vince orders as he takes two guards out.

Newt and Micky finish, both taking off their goggles, leaving their machines and began climbing up to where Thomas, Ky, Eliza, and Dean were. Nicoletta then goes, retreating with Charlie right on her heels. Ramona and Vince both stay though, still shooting.

“Where the hell are the mucks?” Micky utters, covering her head.

“They’re coming! James is on it.” Ky states.

Micky rolls her eyes. “I can’t believe you still trust him even after anything that happened.”

Ky was going to speak but heard the sound of an incoming Berg which made the WCKD guards stop shooting. With this small opening, Ramona steps back, running to the ladder and climbed up on top with the kids while Vince was still on the ground.

The Berg hovers over them, the bottom hatch opening and Ky could see a hook coming on down. She grinned, peering over at Micky. “Told you.” Thomas and Newt both got up, collecting all the straps of the container together. Ky and Micky then reached, grabbing the Berg’s hook, chaining it to the straps the boys placed together.

“Go, go!” Thomas shouts up, seeing Quinn, Frypan, Lucas, and James watching them from above.

“Alright, we’re clear!” Fry shouts up to Diego to was manning the Berg while Jorge, Brenda, Harriet, Carlos, Cass, and Sasha stood around.

“Okay, we’re headin’ up!” Diego remarks.

The WCKD guards start back up once they realize that the kids took over the Berg, shooting but Vince shot back. He nicked a guy in the shoulder, sending him straight down on the tracks and hit another in the leg before running out of ammo and hid in the space between the two carts. Once the gang on the container began feeling movement, they all shouted to him to hurry up and to join them so he wouldn’t be left behind.

Thomas kept his eye out, seeing an opening for him as the guard ran out of ammo themselves and he yells, “Vince, now!”

He took in a deep breath, rushing out from behind and jumped up, catching the last bar of the ladder and hoisted himself upwards to try and grab the other bars as the container and Berg raised higher up. Micky leaned over the side, lowering her hand down to him and he took it, perching himself up and over on top.

Down below, the WCKD guard still shot up at them but it was no use. They came to a halt, watching as they left with the container and their Berg in defeat. Thomas lets out an excited holler and everyone else follows in pursuit, cheering and all wearing smiles that they got their friends back. Ky gave a hug to Micky, smiling wide and glancing up at the Berg to see James’s face that peered down at them. She lets Micky go, still focusing on his face and lifted her hand, giving him her a three finger salute.

It was their own little code that they came up with a while ago. They used it as a way of saying “Thank you” or in some cases, whenever they were leaving to go on a mission, they’d signal it to each other to let them know that they were leaving. They came up with it right after Right Arm base in the Scorch.

James was disowned, forgotten about but they couldn’t just leave him since it would’ve been wrong so they brought him along. There was one rule, and it was to not speak with him until he earned back loyalty and trust. Some like Quinn and Micky were still cautious of him but Ky couldn’t blame them, how could she? The whole experience brought on PTSD so trusting people was now a completely, whole new entire thing.

Ky was about the only one that spoke to him during his exile, talking about their day and how they were doing mentally, emotionally, physically. They both got incredibly close—both becoming like one another’s actual sibling. She was the one that brought him back from the brink, including him into their missions after a heist had went wrong and resulted in Chloe getting taken. It was no surprise that they all judge Ky and her decision but she didn’t care, he deserved to be heard out; to have a place among them. And he certainly earned it.

James, grinning, he gives her the exact same three finger salute and steps back from the opening while they all flew off to their hideout.

 

The sparks rained out on the sides as Micky finished up her job of cutting off the lock of the container, moving back as James and Thomas both rammed into it with the sides of their bodies three times before it became loose and they stumbled in. It was dark, dim, and the chained Immunes on the inside covered their eyes from the sunlight that flooded in after the boys. They began searching, Thomas landing eyes on a beaten Aris that was settled down next to Sonya.

“Aris.” He goes, checking up on him and Sonya. “Hey, you guys okay?”

Aris weakly looked up, getting a goofy grin on his face and Sonya shifted. “Yeah, we’re fine.” She answers, holding onto Aris’s arm in a protective way.

Harriet comes in with Newt, Quinn, and Micky, her seeing her two friends and instantly ran up to give them both hugs. Thomas saunters off down the rows, seeing Lina and bent down to her, seeing her bruised lip and temple. “Jesus.” He utters. “You alright, Lina?”

She nods weakly, coughing. “Yeah. I’m fine.

He gets up, calling to Micky and Quinn, signaling that their friend was there and Quinn grabbed the bolt cutters, heading straight for her to free her. Thomas then continues, trying to scope out Hayley, Chloe, Anne, and Minho but reaches the end of the compartment, realizing the worst had happened. He slowly turns, seeing Newt and James both standing only a few feet away from him.

Thomas sadly shakes his head. “They’re not here.”

Newt glanced down to the floor and James drew in a deep breath, already knowing what he had to do. “I’ll tell her.” He mutters, heading outside to try and find Ky to tell her the news.

He wanders out, following down the small little trail, glancing up to see Dean and Nicoletta in the middle of placing a tarp over the container to hide it out of sight. He continues on, seeing how all the Immunes that they just rescued where being given jackets and blankets by Eliza, Ramona, Linda, Frypan, Charlie, Diego, and other Right Arm members. They were heading down to the old shipyard where Vince and Lee both stood on top of an old foundation, awaiting to give their welcoming speech that they did routinely after every job.

James stops, spotting Ky sitting next to Carlos listening in as her father cleared his throat and began the speech. He just sighs, leaning up against the one building, and did the same.

“I know you’ve all been through hell. I wish I could say proudly that all of our troubles are over, but they’re not. WCKD is out there, they’re going to give up easily. They all want you because you’re immune to a plague that’s wiping out the human race. And they believe that you’re all worth sacrificing in order to find a cure. We don’t.” Lee states, motioning to Vince and him which earns cheers from the crowd.

Vince then takes over. “In two days, when we get the tub of rust seaworthy”—he motions back at the ship that was docked directly behind them—“we’re getting the hell outta here. We’re going to a place where WCKD will never find you. A place you can start over. A place you can call home. Are you with us?”

They all cheer again.

“Well, get up on here. Let’s get to work!” Lee calls out. “We need some volunteers. Let’s get to work! We need these creates on the boat! We got two days before we leave!”

James watches as a few began helping out, seeing Carlos going up to help out and Ky was going to follow until she glanced over, seeing him. Quickly, he signals for her to head on over and she does with a jog and a smile.

“Hey! How are they?”

“Ky . . .”

“Anne alright? What about Chloe? Hayley? Lina? Were they hurt? Did they say anything about what WCKD tried to do with them? Or did—”

“Ky.” James places his hands on her shoulders, letting her know that she needed to calm down. His blue eyes gaze into her honey green ones, the sorrow already filling his words as he softly spoke. “Aris, Sonya, and Lina were the only ones in the crate.” He pauses, shaking his head. “We didn’t get Hayley, Chloe, Minho, or Anne.”

As if it couldn’t be possible, Ky experienced all five stages of grief within a span of ten seconds. She knew that James would never joke to her about this situation because he knew how much they all meant to Ky, _especially_ Anne.

Ky blinks softly, a tear releasing and gliding down her cheek. James lifts his hand, wiping it away with his thumb which prompts her to stare up at him. “We’re never getting them back, are we?” She sniffles and he gently pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head in a caring, platonic way.

In the one tent where Aris, Sonya, and Lina were, they were being taken care of by Harriet and  Nicoletta while Frypan, Thomas, Newt, Micky, Quinn, and Brenda were asking them questions. Aris was handed a mug of water, taking a quick slurp and swallowed with a tender smile. “Took you guys long enough to rescue us.”

Thomas laughs lightly. “It's good to see you, too, bud.” He pats his knee, inspecting his face. “So what happened?”

“I fought back. Tried to, anyway.”

Thomas nods, looking to Lina who was being tended to by Nicoletta as she gently dabbed her bruised lip with a washcloth. “And you?”

“Tried to help out Aris.” She lifted her stare to him, wincing as Nicoletta moved to her temple. Sonya shakes her head, sighing. “You're lucky you found us at all.” She looked to the group. “They had us on the move a lot. It felt like something big was happening.”

“Any idea where they were heading?” Newt mumbles, looking to Sonya.

“All I know is . . . they kept talking about a city.” Aris responds which makes everyone go silent.

A _city_? Hearing that just made them all wondered if there was humanity out there, trying to live as if nothing happened to them. Would it be like a town or an actual, proper city with buildings and things like electricity, clean water for showers, restaurants, and proper meals? It made all their imaginations run wild.

“I didn't think there were any cities left.” Harriet says.

“That's because there aren't.” Brenda speaks up. “Not still standing, anyway.”

“Well, there must be.” Quinn looks to her before taking a sip of their own water. “If WCKD spoke of a city, then there must a city somewhere that they kept hidden from us so we couldn’t have actual decent lives.”

“Okay, wait.” Thomas butts in, eyeing Aris, Sonya, and Lina. “What about Minho? Hayley, Chloe, Anne? Why weren’t they on the train?”

Aris slowly turned to Sonya and she did the same before they glanced to Lina. “I'm sorry, you guys.” He begins. “But they were.”

 

It had been a few hours, the day turning to night and Thomas took in some information from what Aris and Lina told him, grabbing an old wrinkled map and tried to get an accurate measure on where the city could be located. The Islers helped out, knowing a thing or two about planning out codes and finally they had coordinates.

They headed to Base, which was a bigger wooden shack that roomed Vince, Diego, Ramona, Linda, and Lee; the Groupers as the Immunes nicknamed them since they were parental figures to everyone and actual adults. Thomas splayed out the map, showing them all where they had the locationed circled and he points to it. “There, that's it. It's a few hundred miles. Based on the railways, everything that Aris told us, that's gotta be where they're headed. That's where they're taking Minho.”

Ky studied the facial expressions her dad and the others, seeing that they weren’t buying into it so she spoke up. “We take everyone who’s willing to fight. We can follow the roads where we can. And we can make it back within a week tops.”

“A week?” Vince eyes her. “It took us six months to get here. We got over a hundred kids here now. We can't just hang out here forever after what we just pulled. You wanna wander off to some random point on the map. You don't even know what's there.” He points to the circle.

“I do.” They look over, seeing Jorge walking out from behind the one wall, revealing that he been there for a while now. “It's been a few years, but I’ve been there. The Last City. That’s what WCKD called it. Used to be Denver. It was their whole base of operations.”

“Denver?” Ky utters, remembering how Lucas told her how their family used to live in there before their dad took her away to a remote cabin that was up in the mountains. She immediately looks to Lee, seeing how his attention shifted from her to Jorge as he points at the map, standing next to Vince.

“If that city is still standing, that's the last place you wanna go, hermano and hermana. That’s the lion's den.”

“It’s nothing we haven’t done before.” Thomas began, looking to him.

“Yeah, with months of planning, and reliable information, the element of surprise, none of which we have now.”

“Vince, we’ve thought this through.” Thomas started and Vince tried to speak over him but Thomas raised his voice higher. “Would you just hear me out?”

Vince then hit his hand down on the map, making Thomas go silent as he loudly announced, “The last time we went off half-cocked . . . I lost everything. You remember that?” He beams at the boy. “Look, I know it’s Minho and Hayley, Chloe, and Anne. Alright? But you can’t ask me to put those kids on the line for four people. I won’t do it.”

Silence falls over them, allowing for the radio’s static to turn on from behind Newt and Quinn. They peer over, hearing small words peeping in here and there before they could finally make out a phrase.

_“A is completed. Scanning B-sector now.”_

From outside, they heard a helicopter flying by and that instantly made everyone move to positions. Jorge, Diego, and Ramona all ran over, switching off the generators while Micky, Frypan, and Brenda left to head out to one of the buildings to warn the Immunes. Quinn, Newt, and Carlos ran out to the docks, gathering up the few that were hanging out before bed and had them run over the pavilion for cover.

Vince, Thomas, Ky, and Lee all headed outside, looking in the off distance to see a Berg with the helicopter, inspecting a building in the off distance, lights scanning every inch of it to see if they could find the Immunes.

“Jeez, they’re getting close.” Vince whispered.

Thomas then softly said, “You’re right. We can’t stay here.”

Ky instantly looked up at her friend, not believing that he was agreeing with Vince on the idea of leaving without the rest of their family who was still in WCKD’s clutches. Vince nods to Thomas, heading off and Lee follows after, leaving the two teenagers in their wake of devastation.

When WCKD left, after an hour, it was officially bedtime and Ky had finished brushing her teeth. She headed out to her makeshift bed, seeing her dad sitting there with his necklace in hand that had Rose’s wedding ring and band on it. His fingers roamed the band around and around before shifting to the three carat diamond, tracing the oval shape of it for a moment. His hazel eyes lift up, meeting his daughter’s and draws in a deep breath.

“When your mom was pregnant with you, Lucas, and Liam, she swore that all of you were made of fire that was burning within her; fueling her. It wasn’t until Lucas and Liam came out that she fully understood it was only just you . . . She said that she could feel your passion, your empathy—she knew that you’d be a force to be reckoned with.” He weakly smiled, gulping. “Rose always wanted you safe . . . That’s all she ever wanted for you, Carina.”

“. . . Dad?”

Lee places his necklace back around his neck, standing up on his two feet and gazed down upon his daughter. “Some people survive chaos and that’s how they grow as a person. But then, there’s others who thrive in the chaos that happens because that’s all they’ve ever known.”

Among hearing those words, Ky instantly knew the point that he was trying to make and she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that it hurt. “I thrive, don’t I?”

“I don’t blame you, kiddo. Disruption followed our family with your mom getting infected, Deedee leaving and Ricky following. Liam and Lucas being taken, then you; WCKD was havoc for all of us in personal ways. What I’m trying to say is that . . . you deserve to have peace. You’re going to the safe haven—”

“No.” Ky instantly shook her head in disbelief. “No, I’m not doing that. I’m not leaving Anne, Hayley, and Chloe or even Minho, in WCKD’s clutches. It wouldn’t be fair to them.”

“Carina, you listen to me.”

“No, you listen to me. They’re family!”

“You’re my family, okay. I’m the adult here, and I say that you’re not going out there. You are going to the safe haven.”

She lightly scoffed. “Look, I made a promise to one of my good friends before she died. I promised her that I’d get back the Islers that were taken because they’re our family and they’re our responsibility. If I don’t do this, if I don’t keep my word, I let her down.”

Her eyes searches her father’s, trying to see if he was truly understanding what she was meaning but it was like nothing meant more to him than her own safety, which, she comprehended.

“What if it were me out there with WCKD? You’d be searching for me, and you wouldn’t of given up—”

“You were.” Lee states in a serious tone and Ky grows quiet. “I searched for you for years, and I finally got you back.” His eyes fill with tears and she instantly felt regret for even bringing up that remark. “You’re going to go to the safe haven, you’re going to have me, your friends that you saved, and the many other souls you rescued along the way. You’re going to live, have a fresh start, and live the life that you deserve.”

Ky frowned, just staring at him and sniffled before turning to glance off in another direction. She couldn’t be angry with him, but she couldn’t look at him anymore. It was a weird thing. Her dad wanted what was best for her but her own morals was to save everyone that meant everything to her. Ky knew that she got it from him.

“You should be getting to bed, it’s late.” Lee murmurs kindly.

She nods, not wanting to put up a fight. “Tell Ramona and Linda that I’m sorry . . . . That I’m sorry that I couldn’t bring their daughter home.” Ky then rerouted herself around him, going to her bed, setting it up and Lee was going to speak but figured to let it go, knowing that she deserved some time alone and left to head out to the Base.

She listened in to his footsteps, hearing that he left her and she settled in, covering herself up and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes. Sleep didn’t come her, it never did. She just focused on the roof, laying on her back, and thinking of every little single thing that made her want to get up and do something.

An hour passed and Ky got herself up, looming through the dark and made her way through the hammocks of sleeping Immunes and found what she was looking for.

“James?” He turns over, seeing her with had bags under her eyes. He already knew what was up. He makes room, lifting his blanket up and Ky gets in next to him. Gently, he beings humming the tune of the song that Lucas told him to sing to her whenever she couldn’t sleep.

Ky listened in to him, feeling herself getting sleepy but she didn’t want to sleep. This night, she actually wanted to talk.

“James.” She whispers.

He stops. “Yeah?”

“We have to get them back.”

“We will. In time.”

“In time?” She retorts, looking up at him, puzzled. “Is everyone going mad? We need to get them out. We all saw how Lina, Aris, and Sonya looked. They could be doing anything to the others. They deserve to be with us. We can’t give up.”

“We’re not giving up, Ky. We just need to think about the Immunes that we have now, besides you seen how close WCKD was to us tonight. All of us need to get a move leaving before they do find us and recapture us.”

“So why can’t just a few of us go and get them from the Last City and the others head straight to the safe haven? I don’t see the problem in that.”

James sighs. “Because from now on, we set an example.”

Ky furrowed her brows. “What are you talking about?”

He slowly gets up from his hammock, lingering out and points out the one window, pointing out to the the horizon where safe haven was located. “That place is all we have.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Ky,” James eyed her, dumbfounded. “Do you understand?” He paused, watching her raise up. “The safe haven is where we should be going. You said that you’d stick with me, remember? You are. With me.”

Ky felt herself getting worked up again. “You’re asking me to throw my whole life away, James. I won’t do that.”

He then went dead silent and it kinda scared her for a moment. “This is never going to stop, is it?” His eyes meet with hers. “Saving Anne, Minho, Chloe, Hayley . . . It’s not going to be the end of it. WCKD will still be out there . . . Others will be taken and that’s that." James mumbled, his voice monotone as if he lost all feeling. “I wish they were dead . . . I wish Anne, Minho, Chloe, and Hayley were all dead and that we were too.”

Ky had no words, she was just hollowed out. Never had she heard such words leave his lips, being so dull and lifeless.

“It’d make things a whole lot easier—being dead. Everything just stops.” James sniffled, rubbing his nose, his gaze shifting to the floor. “Whereas living, that’s the hardest thing to do. People get hurt and die around you, and you just keep on living knowing that they’re gone and you’re still standing. Still breathing. And then, you blame yourself because you begin to think that you didn’t do everything you could to keep them by your side. To keep them alive.”

He saunters over, sitting back down on the hammock, placing his head into his hands and took in a deep breath. Ky instantly joined at his side, resting her hand on his shoulder, knowing that he was going through unresolved problems mentally.

“James?”

“Sapph . . . I should’ve told you guys about her not being an Immune. I should’ve and I didn’t, and I feel like that’s on me. God, but she . . . She bloody knew. She told me that before she died. She told me that she remembered her family and she knew that she wasn’t Immune, but most all, she knew there was no better way to die than to be surrounded by those who cared for her.”

Ky’s eyes lingered to the back of his neck, seeing his darken tattoo of a tag that was made by WCKD. She then remembered what his subject name had read on Jorge’s scanner that Lucas had, absentmindedly tracing the figure with her left pointer finger.

“C-twenty-two, the _Mercenary_.”

James lifted his hand, reaching back to where Ky’s was and he held it tight. “I’m a soldier. A professional that was given a duty to spy on wonderful people, and to hurt them. And I did. Not in the way that WCKD wanted, but I did. I hurt you all. And yet,” he turns, being face to face with her. “You still look at me. Why?”

“Because I still see a person worth believing in.”

He brokenly laughs. “You know . . basically every Isler has broken a rule that Bia had put in place for us. Except for you.” He states. “And, I want you to keep it that way.”

“James . . .”

“Promise me that, alright? Someone deserves to get out of this alive with less amount of damage. It deserves to be you.”

“And why me?”

James goes still, not wanting to say and she doesn’t press. She just relaxes her head upon his shoulder, the two of them starring back out the window at the nearby ocean. No more words were spoken and none had to be, the night’s tranquility was enough for the both of them.

 

It was early in the morning, around four with the dark sky a lighter shade of blue but still very faint. Ky packed up a bag, getting ready to venture out with Micky and Quinn who came and got her; telling her that they were going to head to the Last City themselves to try and rescue the others. Micky had a Jeep set up, on standby, and Quinn was packing up a snack bag and extra clothes for them and their journey. Ky was all in for the ride.

She did things fast and quick, but not before her one and only twin brother, Lucas, stumbled upon her. Her feet froze as she slung her bag over her shoulder, staring at him for the longest time. Lucas just looked her up and down, already knowing what was going on since their dad filled him in on how she was upset over not getting Anne and the others back.

“I can’t leave her out there, Lucas.” Ky says all of a sudden.

“I know.” Lucas follows the second after her.

She’s silent for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not. You’re scared. I know it because I am too.” And he wasn’t lying. It was their incredible Twin Thing. Him, Ky, and Liam all used to have it until three became two.

He felt what she felt and sensed what she did; it was a superpower. It came in times of need, loneliness, love, fear, stress; and it came in the worst of times like death. He’ll always remember what it felt like to experience Liam dying; his younger brother, the other half of him. It was horrible.

“Anne belongs with us, and her parents.” Ky adds, clearing her throat.

Lucas nods slowly, knowing that she wasn’t telling the full truth. “Are you sure it’s just Anne?”

“Well . . Hayley, Chloe, even Blaire. They deserve to have lives. And—”

“And Owe?” He studies her and Ky gives him her look of sadness which Lucas brokenly laughs, experiencing how she felt. “If only things were different, huh?”

“. . . Yeah.” She mumbles, adjusting the strap of the bag.

Lucas walks up to her, wrapping his arms around her and she hugged him back tightly. “Promise me you won’t get lost.” He whispers into her ear.

“You know me, I always liked to explore.”

“Maybe this time you could just count to seven, it’ll help you; keep you safe.” He remarks, backing away from the hug and focused on her face.

“Why seven?”

“It’s the number of our family. Mom, Dad, Ricky, Deedee, me, Liam, and you. No matter was happens, no matter who we lose, our family is always going to be a family of eight. So whenever you’re afraid, just count.” Ky nods, giving him another hug and let him go, sneaking off to meet with Micky and Quinn.

When she found them, Newt and Frypan were there too, telling them that they planned on rescuing Minho and leaving early during this time as well. The five of them were all settled, but Newt told them that they needed to wait for Thomas. He knew for a certain that Thomas would be doing the same so Ky, Micky, and Quinn got into the back while Fry was in the driver’s seat and Newt leaned against the side of the car, in the dark.

After a few minutes, sure enough, Thomas came on out with a bag that he began zippering up in silence. “And where do you think you’re going?” Newt flicks on the one lap, revealing himself to him.

Thomas sighs, “Newt . . .”

“Don’t be a twat about it.” He remarks, heading up to the boy and grabbed his bag from him. “I’m already in. Come on.”

Newt heads back to the vehicle, Thomas giving him a surprised look. “No. No, not this time.” Newt pauses, looking to him. “Look, even if we find Minho and the others, there’s no guarantee we make it back from this.”

He then smirks. “Well, you’ll need all the help you can get then, won’t you?” He then opens the back door, showing him Ky, Micky, and Quinn who smiles at him. Newt then opens the driver’s door, Frypan peeking his head out and grins.

Thomas scoffs with a happy look upon his face, not believing that they all were in this for better or for worse.

“Well, we started this together. May as well end it that way, too.”

 


	16. PART 3, CHAPTER 2: We're Together On This

White flakes fall in from the sky, littering the damp sand of the Isle as Anne opened her blue eyes that faced the cloudless light blue abyss that hung above her. Her body freezes in fear while it lays on its back, eyes wandering all around her before the arms forces the top half upwards. [Anne](https://66.media.tumblr.com/b8bf71cdeed2843a626fe44e3567523b/tumblr_nob0znR7Kl1r2ne7po6_400.gif) gets a better look around, noticing the thick, algae covered cement walls that surrounded her in a circle with four openings all over.

“No . .” She utters in terror, shaking her head and when she does, she sees that her hair was back to its dazzling blonde. A small white spec lands on it and she gently grabs it with her thumb and pointer finger, suspecting the pads to meet a cool surface but she couldn’t be more wrong. It was soft, light. As she pulled it away, inspecting it in her fingers, Anne rubs it to see it smudging and being reduced to nothing. Black and grey marked her fingers, telling her that what was falling from the sky wasn’t snow. It was ash. 

Anne turns all around, wondering if Chloe or Hayley was with her. Did WCKD really take them back to the Isle? Maybe. She couldn’t remember too much from before; only that she was in the train, chained up, sitting next to Minho and hearing Ky’s voice from outside of the container she was in. She rattled her chains that hang from the ceiling, screaming her name but help didn’t come. Just WCKD.

Janson was grinning, telling the one guard in charge named Nathan that it was Thomas and the others who robbed the train, but that they should be back considering they didn’t get the Immunes that they really wanted. Minho had given him a death glare while Chloe and Hayley leaned on each other to keep themselves balanced from lack of sleep. Anne just eyed all the younger children around them, all under the age of thirteen. They reminded her of Sapph and just that made Anne trace over her bracelet that Sapph had made her before leaving the Isle and escaping the Labyrinth.

And that was it. Everything else after is just a blur. She can’t recall what happened.

“Chloe?! Hayley?!” Anne shouts out, trekking through the sand and up to where the Hoosegow was and peered around for any sign of a fellow friend or even Phil the Deer for that matter. She hoped that she wasn’t alone.

Over by the Necropolis, she seen the backs of a group of girls. Two tall blondes, a short girl with brown hair with two others that were just a tad taller right next to her, and a redhead. Anne stills, watching them as they were moving rocks and not just any rocks, they were the small, flat, hand sized boulders that Misfits decorated whenever they became a part of the Isle family. They were placing them by the Stones of The Fallen.

A loud noise cracks from behind Anne, making her glance back to the dark sky rolling in. Black clouds, shocks of lightning jolting out and in between them, and rain bleeding down in huge pelts. The weather looked evil, menacing. The rain mixed in with the flakes of ash, making it a deadly combo and Anne began feeling dragged down to the sand.

She turns back to where she had seen the Islers standing, no longer seeing them over by the Necropolis and furrowed her brow in confusion. There was no way that they could have vanished that fast. Where have they possibly gone? It was at this time that the reality of this place seemed too strange; too disorientated.

A little girl giggles, running past Anne and she watches, catching sight of the hoodie that the smaller child wore and she felt her stomach fall. “Sapph?” She murmurs, following after. “Sapph?!”

Anne chased her on down into the Necropolis, boots sinking into the small pits of sand as she did. Sapph seemed to move silently, running as though she’d taken the path a million times. They came to a clearing, and Sapph suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Sapph?” Anne said cautiously, walking forward and putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

Sapph turned around, and Anne gasped and moved backwards. Her face was covered with black veins, her eyes glossy and dark. Much like how she looked before she died. “Why didn’t you save me?”  Her familiar voice cut through Anne like shards of glass, and she shook her head.

“I tried . . .”

“Why didn’t you? I thought you cared about me,”  Sapph said, tears streaming down her face. Tears of blood.

Anne turned around to run, but walked straight into someone’s chest. She looked up and covered her mouth.

“James?” She asked, although her friend was barely recognizable. The side of his head was bashed in with blood dripping down his face, and his lifeless eyes looking right at her. “James, what happened to you?”

“You could’ve done something,”  he said simply, and fell to the ground at her feet. She crouched down, shaking his shoulder to wake him up, but his body gone limp. Anne whirled around to beg Sapph for help, but saw Owe in her place, his chest impaled by a piece of shrapnel and his eyes lifeless.

Anne scrambled over to him, her hands staining the ground with James’s blood, but she was tackled to the ground before she could get there. She screamed, trying to fend the thing off, but she looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Ky on top of her, who had totally turned into a crank. Her eyes were fogged over with white, making a scary appearance of Ky that Anne never seen before. Ky’s right hand was wrapped around Anne’s throat, crushing her windpipe as she placed all her weight on her.

“This is your fault,”  she growled, and Anne gasped for air, clawing at Ky’s hand to tear it off. “This only happened because of you.”

Anne’s hand sprawled out, reaching for a giant shell that she seen earlier on the ground, and grabs it. Her arm lunges upwards, the shell colliding against Ky’s temple which sent her off to the side, being lifeless on impact. Anne stood up panting, watching as Ky’s blood began seeping out from her wound that she had caused.

“I thought you loved me,”  a voice said quietly from behind her, and she turned to see Quinn, who was clutching a gaping wound on their chest. Anne ran forward and caught them before they fell, and Quinn put their hand on Anne’s cheek, smearing their blood across her delicate skin. “Why did you do this to us?”

Anne felt tears streaming down her face, and she looked down at Quinn’s abdomen which was bleeding, a lot. “I . . . I’m sorry . . .” she said in between sobs, her head lifting up to see the pile of her friend’s bodies laying all around her. “I’m sorry.” She cries out louder.

 _Rororoarrrrrrrr_. The familiar, fear inducing growl rumbled from behind Anne and she looks back, seeing a Harbinger staring at her with bulbous eyes and its mouth opened wide to display its many rows of sharp teeth and the long, split tongue.

Anne began breathing heavily, tears still running down her dirty face and as the creature lifted its body high into the air, towering over her, she let out a shrill.

 

Blaire stood on the other side of the one way mirror, peering in to watch as Anne was fasten into the simulator, the serum being collecting in the small tube. Next to her stands a boy that was around the age of twenty-two, clicking his red pen and scribbled a few notes down onto his clipboard. She eyes him for a moment before turning back to focus on Subject C-Two, seeing her squirm while she was heavily in her mind’s reproduction of the Isle.

“We’re going to be upping the dosage. Might want to mark that down, Cooper.”

The boy pauses in writing, side eyeing the high tighten ponytail of hers that she’d been supporting for the last four months; dying her hair back to its original dirty blonde for a more professional look. He then takes notice of her dark green uniform that she wore to show where she was ranked amongst the workers of WCKD’s Headquarters. The collar covered her neck, protecting it from whatever harm could come to it while the shoulders were padded and displayed black badges of importance.

His brown eyes linger back up to her face, meeting her icy blue that seemed so shallow in fierceness and calculation. Her darken blonde eyebrows arched, the left one raising a tad since she was mentally inspecting him for a solid moment before speaking yet again.

“Mr. Cooper, is that understood?” Blaire firmly turns and faces her body at him, hands at her back and chest out to show authority.

“Of course, Ms. Janson.”

“Good.” She goes back to where she was standing and he could’ve sworn that he seen her footprints embedded into the ground. She glances up above her head at the screens that showed the current scans of Anne’s brain activity and draws in a breath.

Anne lets out another terrified scream, her toes curling and fingers folding into her palms, shaking. The boy, Nathan, turns away from not being able to withstand the sound but Blaire just still stood, unfazed.  

 

The vehicle kept on moving down the road, [Quinn](https://66.media.tumblr.com/ec6210013009bf67c107f118fab2c034/tumblr_oc75z7M1iz1rl17i3o3_250.gif) peering out of the marked up window in the back and scanning eyes over the wasteland. Thomas was up in passenger’s, reading the map to make sure that they were going the correct way while Frypan drove. Newt was in the back, having conversation with Micky about something while Ky was perked up in between the console, gazing over Thomas’s shoulder at the map as well.

They began passing a few weather damaged signs, Newt spotting one and squinting to try and read the black lettering scrawled on top of a yellow background. “Road work . . . ahead?” He questioned, guessing the last bit since the word was ruined.

Micky looks to the sign, stifling a laugh. “Yeah, Newt, I sure hope it does.” She teased.

“Mick,” Quinn pipes up from the side of her, from the back. “That was the twelfth joke you’ve done so far on this voyage. Do another, and I’ll probably duct tape your mouth shut.”

Ky rolled her eyes, overhearing her friends and smiled lightly before spotting a sign that warned the gang that there was an old Mandatory Infection Check coming up on them in two miles. She turns back, asking Quinn for the time since they wore a watch and was given the time of nine in the morning. They had been on the rode for five hours.

Within minutes, the group pulled up to the old station, parking the car and hoping out to look around. Ky stopped a sign that told the people of the symptoms of the Flare; vomiting, fever, stomach cramps, erratic behavior, coughing, and lastly, blacken veins. She frowned before turning over and seeing where the others stood, in front of the long darkened tunnel.

“You want us to go in there?” Newt questions, gazing to Thomas who just eyed the map. “I don’t wanna come across as too negative, but if I was a Crank, that’s exactly where I would be.”

Quinn nods in agreement. “It is a perfect way to live out the rest of your days in a shell of your former self.”

Thomas sighs, shrugging. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. It’s our only way to get there.”

They all fall silent, gazing upon the structure and [Micky](https://66.media.tumblr.com/c6bac13fe67ac600f0ae8f9bfc60528a/tumblr_o52y59yH8S1t55dzfo1_250.gif) tightens her ponytail, blowing air out of her mouth which makes her lips vibrate; making a horse noise. “We really gon’ do this?” She asks out loud to no one in particular.

Newt was the first to speak. “I get shotgun.”

“Damn, he beat me to it.” Quinn rolls their eyes, twirling around to follow him back to the car. Micky softly grinned, giving an exchange to Fry who did the same and they went after the two others, leaving Thomas and Ky behind who still eyed the tunnel. He asks if she’s alright and with a nod, they head back into the Jeep. Fry was back with driving and Newt was in the passenger’s. Thomas sat behind Fry, Ky next to him, in middle, with Quinn on her right and Micky in the very back; the trunk section.

Fry drove forwards, proceeding with caution and turned on the headlights to guide their way. Newt then grabbed a huge hand held spotlight, rolling down his window with a lever and turned it on, shining it all around to inspect the area. Thomas got his one flashlight, clicking it on and did the same as Newt except he didn’t roll down his window, just panned the light back and forth.

“Here we go.” Fry remarks, seeing a few rundown cars ahead.

“Yeah, just take it nice and slow.” Newt mumbles.

The car loops in and around, making its way through the maze that surrounded them and Ky spotted a figure standing up a little while a ways, she perks up, sticking her head in between Newt and Fry. The boys see it too, Fry gently pressing down on the breaks and having the vehicle come to a complete stop.

Thomas perks his head, trying to look over and Ky notices. “It’s a Crank.” She whispers, her and the boys glancing back at him for his thoughts.

He nods. “It’s okay. It’s just one. Take it slow, go around him. We’ll be fine.”

Frypan eyes him for a short span of time, gulping as he was filled with worry. “Take it slow.” He focuses back on the wheel, gripping it tight. “Take it slow.” Newt turns off his light, placing it by his feet and began rolling the window back up for safety.

Thomas goes back to how he was sitting and Ky does too, slowly reclining back and captured a silhouette from the corner of her eye. She turns, seeing an infected woman with her face and hands pressed against the glass, staring at Thomas.

“Thomas.” She says in a warning, nudging him in secret.

He furrows his brows, eyeing Ky to see how her attention was glued to the window that was next to him and he looks, seeing the older lady. Thomas flinches back, letting out a small exclaim and covered Ky with his body as well as Quinn.

“Please. Please.” The woman begged with wide eyes, trying to open the door by the handle, yanking on it repeatedly and smiling a toothy grin which showed how her top row was decaying. Her cheeks had small veins that she probably couldn’t of had for more than three hours at the least. “Help me.”

From behind Quinn, there was another thud on the glass, making them whip around to see a man with blacken veins all over his face. He was yelling gibberish, not making any sense as he clawed at the window, wanting to get inside.

“Fry, I think you need to get us the hell outta here. Like now!” Quinn demands.

More Cranks began running up to the sides of the Jeep, banging on the windows and trying to undo the doors to get in. Micky, Thomas, Quinn, Newt, and Ky all began yelling at Fry, telling him to floor it and to get a move on it before they all became a Crank breakfast.

“Hold on!” Frypan shouts over the madness, adjusting the shift to go into drive and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal which made the tires spit dust before taking off down the tunnel.

A Crank runs up, jumping on top of the hood and began punching at the windshield, making it web-crack. Frypan then began swerving the car, trying to get the man loose and to fall off the car but he had a mean grip. From the abrupt movements, Micky puts on her seat belt and tells Quinn and Ky to do the same. Quinn gets a jump on it but as for Ky, she was too busy paying attention to the Crank as it swung over onto the driver’s side and began hitting the window.

“Hang on!” Fry shouts as he began hitting bumps in the road, making Ky and Thomas flop around like fish out of water.

He stirs the Jeep by an old rig of some sorts, knocking the Crank off and continued on driving without a problem. Thomas straightens himself out, helping Ky with getting situated and glanced ahead to see that the road was closed off by cones and a small ramp.

“Frypan, watch out!” He shouts but it’s too late. The Jeep travels up on the side of the small structure at it’s high speed, the Jeep tipping as it leaned on its side and comes down with a harsh clash before rolling upside down.

Dust filled the air, having them all cough while Thomas asked if everyone was alright. He immediately looked over at Ky who was saved by Micky and Quinn, both having her supported with Quinn’s arms on her lap and Micky’s on her shoulders.

“My hand.” Frypan groans as the engine shuts off, the headlights going out. “My hand.”

“Ky, you good?” Quinn glances to her.

“Yeah, head is a little fuzzy. I don’t think I can be this upside down for any longer.”

Thomas adjusts himself around, twisting around so he could under Ky and held out his hands. “Quinn, Mick, you can let her go. I’ll get her.”

“You sure?” Mick eyes him, seeing a nod. “Okay. Ky, place your hands down to help you out.”

She does and Micky releases her shoulders, seeing how she shifted downwards but Thomas is there, his hands stopping her from completely falling onto her face. Quinn then lets go, Ky’s legs coming down fast and Thomas is quick, grabbing her knees and set them off to the side so she laid next to him.

“Okay.” Thomas glanced down at his feet, seeing how they were close to the window and had an idea. “Fry, cover your eyes.” He does so and Thomas kicks the glass, breaking it and he turned himself around, accidentally elbowing Quinn in the process and crawled out.

Quinn pressed the button on their belt, releasing themselves and they flopped down on the ground, grunting. “Shit, Quinn.” Ky eyed them. “You hurt yourself?”

“I’m good.” They huffed as their bangs hung in front of their eyes. “Mick, you making process?” “Need a bit of help.” She remarks.

Quinn goes into the back, helping out while Thomas calls for Ky, reaching his hand out for her and she takes it. He carefully pulls her from the wreck, helping her stand up and she dusts off her hands onto her jeans before wandering off. She kept an eye out for any movement, looking back at the way they came from.

“Thomas, the door!” Frypan shouts, banging on it to try and budge it open since it was stuck on something.

“Can you get out?” Newt mutters to Frypan before gazing back at Mick and Quinn to see them breaking the back window open to crawl on out like how Thomas and Ky did. He then focused on his door, trying to get it open while Thomas moved around the Jeep since Frypan’s side was tarnished.

Once Thomas got over, he watched as Newt’s door came undone, him spilling out with a yelp and cough. “Newt, you okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He nods while Thomas helps him on up then goes to aid Frypan.

Quinn and Micky stand as well, grabbing their packs from the back and slung them over their shoulders. Ky peered over to the gang, seeing how Newt was holding his arm and testing it out ever so slightly. She zeroed in on him until a Crank screams, the piercing yell echoing throughout the tunnel which made Ky turn quickly to see the Crank that was on the windshield. Newt goes straight his holster, not feeling his pistol. “Oh, shit.”

“Frypan, I think we gotta move. Now!” Thomas shouts in a hurry.

Frypan then crawls back into the Jeep, reaching for something. “Wait a minute!”

“Right now!” Newt adds in.

“Fry, come on!” Micky ordered while Quinn began looking through their pack for a hatchet that they put in there for emergencies.

“What are you doing?” Ky backs up since the Crank drew closer from it sprinting forwards towards them. “We need to move!”

The Crank got closer to the group and Frypan finally got his shotgun free, standing up and whipping around in a fast motion, aiming at the stomach of the man and shot. He fell down in an instant, non-moving and silent.

“Nice shot, Fry.” Thomas huffed.

“Thanks.”

More Crank noises sounded and Ky yelled at them, telling them that they just needed to run for it. Quinn didn’t need to be told twice as they ran over to where she was, Micky going after with Newt and Thomas. Frypan stayed behind, shooting at the oncoming Cranks, trying to get a few down before making a flee.

The six of them began running as fast as they possibly could and it reminded them all of the mall in the Scorch. They kept on going, Ky being up in front with Thomas, gaining speed until they seen Cranks coming for them in the front. Thomas placed out his hand in front of Ky, helping her come to a stop while he let out a “woah, woah, woah!”.

Frypan cocks the shotgun, telling them to move out of the way and began shooting at a few Cranks before turning back and began shooting at the ones from behind; alternating ever so often.

Micky spots an old car that was parked behind an rusted, paint chipped school bus and got a brilliant idea. She pointed it out to Quinn, them already knowing what she was hinting at. Quinn was first, darting straight up onto the car, getting up on the trunk, the roof, then jumping up onto the top of the bus. Micky then went, getting on top and grabbed useless things out of their backpacks to throw at the Cranks to try and divert them.

Frypan came up short, running out of bullets and backed up against Newt, Thomas, and Ky. All of them went back to back, keeping a lookout until they heard a vehicle’s engine revving in the off distance. They turned, seeing a light blue truck coming up at a speed, bulldozing through the sea of Cranks and parking up ahead where the school bus was.

Brenda pops out from the sunroof with her handgun while James and Carlos stood in the back bed of the car with their own guns, aiming at the Cranks and unleashed their bullets. “Get in!”

Micky and Quinn jump down from the bus, Quinn holding their hatchet and threw it at a Crank that was dangerously close to Micky. They snaked into the bed then into the back seats, sitting next to Dean. Frypan and Newt got in after them, sitting in the bed portion under the bars and tarp. Carlos paused in his shooting, helping Ky up in and she then helped Thomas.

“Go, Jorge! Go!” James calls, shooting a Crank in the head and sits down directly next to Frypan as the truck began speeding off and out of the tunnel.

The heat and sunlight hit their eyes, making a few of them sneeze from the sudden change of dark to light. Down the road, Jorge pressed down his makeshift metal window and glanced at the rear-view mirror to inspect the kids.

“I’m impressed!” He began to say, focusing back on his driving. “You guys almost lasted a whole day.”

“We were doing good until the Jeep flipped.” Quinn remarks. “Other than that, I would’ve gave us a B for effort.”

Brenda then turns around in her seat, eyeing the group but mostly Thomas. He then shrugs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t wanna bring you guys into this.”

Frypan then pads his shoulder, eyeing Brenda. “I think what he’s trying to say is thanks for saving us.”

Thomas then smiled, nodding and Brenda returned the smile. “You’re welcome.” She then goes, sitting back around.

Ky’s eyes flickered over to James, seeing how he was still wearing the beaded bracelet on his wrist that Sapph had made him in the Isle under his jacket sleeve. Her eyes then lift up, seeing that James was looking her over as well with a thought in mind.

“Lucas told you, didn’t he?”

James nods with a chuckle. “Yeah . . You’d really think I would’ve let you do this one your own? No. We’re together on this. Besides, if anything happened to you, I wouldn’t want our last words to be what they were.” He pauses for a second. “I wouldn’t want to live the rest of my life knowing that I could’ve saved you but failed in doing so.”

“If any one of us shall die,” [Carlos](https://66.media.tumblr.com/f842337503d4e6d5f852fc792c0afbb7/tumblr_n7qkncEY8S1tuwzkvo1_500.gif) speaks up from besides Ky, “then we’re all dying together. As a family.”

The truck kept on driving along the road, winding up onto a hill while Thomas, Newt, Micky, and Quinn made small talk with Jorge and Brenda. Micky made a statement about the Mandatory Infection Check, saying how it wasn’t too bad to handle with a big group of people and that caused Jorge to pipe up.

“Hey, don’t get your hopes up. That checkpoint back there, that was the city’s last defense. If that was overrun, chances are the city is, too.”

Newt then peers out, seeing the city for himself. “Yeah, unless they figured out some other way to keep the Cranks out.” The group all then turn heads, seeing what Newt was and Jorge pulled off on the side of the road, pressing on the breaks which made the vehicle come to a screeching halt.

A dust cloud picked up from the sudden stop as they hopped on out of the truck, rounding it and gaze off in the distance to see Denver, the Last City, in its glory with tall, beautifully structured buildings. Surrounding the city were cement walls that towered the run down town around it, enclosing in on the portion that was still intact with humanity, electricity, and had marvelous skyscrapers.

“Funny . . . Spent three years trapped behind walls, trying to break out, and now we wanna break back in.” Newt states, resting his hands on his hips.

“Yeah. It’s hilarious.” Frypan said with no expression, sounding kinda sad and the Islers couldn’t blame him for that reaction.

“Jorge, how do we get in?” Thomas asks him.

Jorge shakes his head, taking off his gloves. “Don’t look at me, hermano. Those walls are new. I guess that’s WCKD’s answer for everything.”

“The town used to be apart of it?” Quinn looks to the older Spanish gentleman.

He nods. “All of it was the Last City. My guess is that more and more people got infected, or worse, WCKD only cared for those who could provide them with service.”

“The Upper and Middle Classes.” [James](https://66.media.tumblr.com/2199f6e03ddbfdf7f6cdc279a8a10668/tumblr_oygkrmkZFb1wey790o1_400.gif) corrected. “People that could still work, not have gotten infected, and had quality backgrounds. WCKD moved them into the center and forced the poorer families to the outer banks, separating them like wheat from chaff. They built the walls so the important people on the inside can maintain their illusion that the world isn’t ruined and how it used to be. Whereas the people on the outside have face the full reality of it all.”

He frowns, dropping his gaze and everyone’s silent after he does. Ky wondered if there was more to James then what he was letting on. He never spoke about his past before WCKD, only after but even then, the after only concluded things of the Isle—nothing else.

Brenda folds her arms in front of her chest, studying the city and draws in a deep breath. “We need to find a way in, and we’re not going to be able to from the whole way up here. Let’s go.”

James clears his throat, listening to her and got back into the truck with Dean, Frypan, Jorge, Quinn, and Micky.

Newt gives the city another look before nudging Thomas. “You really think Minho and the others are in there?”

“I guess we’ll find out.” He responds, still scanning the buildings with his honey brown eyes.

“You know she’s going to be there, too.” Newt states, keeping quiet and Thomas returns his look; knowing that he was meaning Teresa.

Thomas stays silent before drifting his gaze past Newt, seeing Ky standing all by her lonesome, eyeing Denver as well. “I think it’s going to be harder on her, don’t you think?”

Newt peers over at his shoulder at Ky, seeing how Carlos stepped up behind her, seeing if she was alright and silently chatting with her. He nods in sympathy for the girl, gazing back at Thomas and patted his back before going to the truck again.

Carlos steps away from Ky, allowing Thomas a window of opportunity to stride on over to check in on her and how she was feeling since they had became very good friends over the last months, learning a lot about one another. Especially how good of friends they were in WCKD.

“Hey,” he gently started. “How you feeling?”

[Ky](https://66.media.tumblr.com/7b9eda9b35bceeb3f51d1dadbc0d827e/tumblr_nxvyp6zRUj1qh6dazo4_400.gif) knitted her brows. “Lucas told me that we used to live here before WCKD . . . This place is where I’m from. This is home.”

A warm breeze travels pass, Ky’s long brown hair blowing in the wind until it dies down, resting back on her chest. Thomas could only imagine what was truly going on in her beautiful brain; could it be of her thinking about her friends? The city? Or could it be of what was hidden behind the walls and luxury painted appearance.

“Strange, isn’t it?” She made a quick glance to him which puts his internal thinking on hold. “We always end up where we start.”

The truck engine rumbles, coming to life and Thomas observed the machinery before giving a small cast to Ky. She understood and joined him at his side, making way to the vehicle.

 

The sound of Teresa’s heels clack against the lobby’s tile as she wistfully strides towards Ava Paige who was speaking with an older man in around his forties and a younger woman who was around late thirties. She glances down at her small golden necklace that her mother had bought her for her sixth birthday, wearing it proudly as she approached Ava.

“Excuse me.” Ava nods to the spoke with, them walking off as Teresa stood in front of her. “You ready?” Teresa doesn’t respond, already nervous about the meeting. “It’ll be fine.” Ava pats her back before capturing sight of Owe heading over as well.

He was dressed in light grey flat-front pants with black loafers, a tucked in white button up, and accompanied by a dark navy blue jacket. His hair had grown out a bit longer, not having it cut in over a month which gave him bangs that fell in front of his forehead.

“Glad you’re going to be joining us, Mr. Rogers.” Ava complements, the three of them heading to the elevators and went up to Level 40 which was the second to the highest floor.

The four members of Post-Flares Coalition were already there, greeting Ava while Owe and Teresa stood aside and got the papers ready for them to read and learn about their statistics. The two men and lady sit down in chairs while Ava began the session, discussing the precautions that WCKD had taken to ensure a cure and how the maze trials were successful with them finding candidates to test for a serum.

Eleven minutes had passed and Owe knew that because of the hologram clock that was on display behind Ava, on her desk. The one man was silent, reading through the papers and he speaks directly to Ava while Teresa crossed her arms in front of her, listening in just like Owe.

“People are beginning to lose faith, Doctor. When you sealed off the walls, you assured us that it would only be a temporary precaution. Why have you now denied all entry?”

“Because things are changing. And not for the better. Infection rates were up 300%. Fortunately,

we may be on the verge of a breakthrough.”

She turns, the clock turning into a display of Minho with his picture in the middle, a scan of his brain activity, DNA, heart rate, and many other details.

“This is Subject A-seven. He spent over three years in the Maze Trials.” She then points to his chart. “The antibodies produced in response have been the strongest we’ve ever seen next to hers.” The screen adds in another picture, showing Anne’s face and her diagrams. Her antibodies chart was almost identical to Minho’s. “This is Subject C-two. She’d been in the Trials for only three months, and she’s producing just as much.”

The members of the Post-Flares Coalition slowly nodded, having no reason to argue the facts since they were there; clear as day. Owe slowly shifted his eyes upwards, landing on that picture of Anne and felt that guilt coming up again; weighing him down and sinking him deep into the pit of despair.

“We’re extracting a new serum as we speak.” The seventeen year old instantly shoots a surprised expression to Ava before giving one to Teresa who just stood still, paying attention and silent. “And with your support, we’d like to begin human trials.”

 _Human trials? What the hell does that mean?_ Owe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Were they seriously going to bring in people that were infected and administrate a possible serum that could make their symptoms worse? Of course. They’d risk it to try and get a proper results.

“Thank you, Doctor. That is very impressive.” The one female on the far right that was seated in the chair in front of Teresa informed her. “But we have been down this road before. Frankly, we are all beginning to wonder if—”

“If our resources couldn’t be better spent elsewhere.” The main next to her jumps in.

“Meaning?” Ava questions.

“Safe zones.” The woman speaks again. “Protected areas like the one we’re in. We could save as many people as possible.”

Owe was eternally grateful, having joy over the fact that they’d rather have their money and time spent on making other places safe for those who can’t help themselves. That was until Teresa spoke up.

“How many?” Her voice booms throughout the room, her heels making way up and around to face the two men and women. “A thousand? Two thousand? And that’s assuming your protected areas stay protected, which we know they won’t. The infected already outnumber the healthy three-to-one. All you’d be doing is delaying the inevitable.”

Ava witnesses Teresa coming around, taking over the conversation and sits down on her loveseat before spotting Owe who was visibly upset and beyond uncomfortable. She then goes back to giving her attention and support to Teresa, clearing her senses and nods for her to continue on.

In her own time, Teresa began thinking about her mother Rose. “Have any of you ever lost someone to the virus?” She inquired, hoping someone had in order for her to reason with them and sure enough, the woman from before speaks.

“A niece. Anna.”

She politely smiled to try and cover her own pain that she remembered of that horrible night, finding her mother eyeless and her father being completely destroyed to the point that he shut himself down.

Teresa diverts herself, getting back on track. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to help her. But imagine if we were able to live with the virus. To survive it. Imagine being able to tell Anna that you could give her the chance to live a normal life.”

Her voice swelled at the end, teetering on the brink of her coming to tears and that made Owe ease up a tad. He knew that something emotionally was linked to all of this—her sudden betrayal at Right Arm, why she was anxious for this meeting and had been practicing for it. Teresa blinks repeatedly, taking in a deep inhale and Owe knew that technique; she was trying not to cry. Trying to gain control of her wild emotions.

“We’ve never been this close to a cure. And we’ve sacrificed a lot to get this far.” Her blue eyes scan the room, looking over the members, Ava, and lastly Owe. “Please, don’t let those sacrifices be for nothing.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to MissMaier for helping me out with Anne's simulation!!! I greatly appreciate it.


	17. PART 3, CHAPTER 3: The Wisp Sings

Owe stands at the huge glass window, overlooking the city’s streets that were filled with people carrying on about their days in happiness and safety from the outside horrors that loomed beyond the walls. His fingers began tracing over the locket that he always wore out of sight and out of mind, around his neck. Somehow, with the pads of his fingers glossing over the silver pendant, it felt like his mother and sister weren’t gone.

Teresa stands up next to him, gazing out the window as well while Ava walked the members of the Post-Flare Coalition. She noticed how he was clasping the locket within his grasp as if it would disappear if he let go—possibly reducing to ash and blowing away in the wind.

The door shuts and Ava heads up on the other side of Teresa, staring out at the city as well and side eyed the two of them. “Nicely done. They can be a tough crowd. Teresa, you handled them perfectly.” She pauses. “‘Delaying the inevitable’. Thomas used to say the same about us.”

Upon the instant mention of his name, Teresa’s body tenses. She had thought about him so often that when she didn’t, she foreseen it as some miracle.

Ava notices her hesitance. “Do you still think about him?” Teresa doesn’t respond. “I can help you with that, those memories. There’s no reason to keep holding on to them. It’s a simple procedure.”

“It’s not just him.” Teresa says quietly, her brain automatically going to Ky while Owe just listened to her and Ava, stepping away from the window. He paced a bit, eyeing the Labyrinth mirror that hung on the wall. “And there is a reason. I want to remember.” She gives a glance to Ava. “If we find a cure, that’s the only way all this was worth it.”

“I hope you’re right.” Ava replied, heading out of her office and leaving Teresa and Owe alone in their company.

“You really believe that?” Owe asks her. “Doing what we did is worth finding the cure? Our friends believing that they can never trust us again?”

“It was necessary evil, Jake.” Teresa turns around, facing him to give all of her attention away. “People are still suffering out there, we can’t let them.” A pause. “Don’t forget that you’re here, too.”

He huffs, shaking his head. “It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was the wisest choice I could’ve made. And it pains me everyday knowing what I did.”

“But it’ll be admiral once we do have our cure.”

“Still doesn’t change the fact that we hurt the ones that we loved.”

Teresa frowns, accepting defeat after that statement and began heading out of the room, leaving as the door closed directly behind her and Owe took in a deep breath as he felt his heart beginning to beat faster and faster since he was overwhelmed. He usually did whenever he thought back to that night six months ago at Right Arm, remembering it clear as day as if it just happened seconds ago.

 

Ky had set off the explosive, everyone ducking down on the dirt ground and taking cover. Owe uncovers his head, picking it up to see that Janson was running straight towards him. As the boy tried to stand, Janson back handed him, sending him straight back into the earth’s crust and grabs him from the back of his jacket. He yanks him up on his feet, directing the teenager over and behind a tent that caught aflame.

Owe felt his fingers balling up tight into his palm to create a firm fist, rage growing within him, seeing his mother being shot over and over again, in a loop, by Janson in his brain. He wanted to pumble him, beat him until his knuckles were covered in his blood and bruised from colliding with the old man’s jaw. But atlast, Owe knew that he could never take him in a fight and the only thing he could do is just eye the man venomously.

“You’re going to be coming with us.”

Owe snorts. “Like the hell I am!” He spits, feeling confident. “I’m not going anywhere with you or your cruel pack of rat friends.”

“But you will, if it means saving your friends, including her.” Janson grabs Owe’s jaw, turning his face forcibly for him to land eyes on Ky who was face to face with James, hesitant on placing her hand into his until she does.

His sight didn’t leave her as James helped her up, quickly running off with her while WCKD guards began chasing them down and Vince started up the machine gun to fire at them; trying to keep them at bay from the two.

“Would you like for her to end up like your mother?” Janson retorts sinsterly to Owe, metaphorically prying his head wide open and filling it with manipulation. “Or like your little sister?”

Owe snapped his head to Janson, looking at him to fully process what he had said. ‘Or like your little sister’. Did that mean that Ky . . . _No. No, no._ He tried to dismiss that thought entirely but Janson continued on, mentally hammering into him.

“Because it will, eventually. You’re a smart kid, you know that. She’s going to die by the Flare or by me, and at least with the Flare she’ll have a chance. However with me, I never miss a shot.”

Ky then screams, “Lucas?! Owe?!” Once he heard his name, he tried to break free but Janson grips onto his jacket’s collar and holds him in place.

“You could save her and your other friends by helping us find a cure, you little shit.” Janson scowls.

“Why me?! Huh?” Owe bites the baiting hook that Janson purposely threw out there which made him smirk with delight.

“Because you’re the son of the woman who created the virus in the first place. Every single person that died and will die from being infected, was caused by the same blood that runs in your veins.”

That’s what did him in, granting Janson the access that he needed in order to persuade this boy into coming with them.

“The last name Cooper will forever be tainted because of her but you can change that, redefining it as the name of a savior. Glory will be restored and your family will no longer carry the burden. Jake,” Janson uses his real name to his point even more crystal clear. “You don’t want to make a mistake now, do you?”

The background noises of guns firing and the Right Arm gang yelling while they fought was deafening—almost too much to bear. But there was a sudden break in the chaos, allowing Owe to hear.

“Mom!”

“Emma!”

Anne and her mother Linda shout after one another as Anne was captured by the guards, being taken directly over to the Berg to be loaded up and taken back to WCKD. Owe sized up the scene, his brain was practically turned to mush at this point; everything around him was happening too fast that there was no time to process all of it and even if he tried, it only gave him excruciating pain in the head.  

“Let Anne go!” Owe manages to slur out of his mouth, trying to go against Janson’s weight but it was heavy for him. “I’ll go if you let Anne go! Please! Take me instead of her!” He already knew how it felt to be reunited with your mother just to have her be torn away from you.

“That’s not the deal.”

“You said that if I go, it’ll save my friends. Anne _is_ a friend!”

“And you can help her by coming _with_ us. You’ll be able to check in on her every day, making sure that she’ll be alright.” A pause. “Leave them, come with us, and you’re able to check up on Anne and friends, knowing that you’ll save the others in the long run. Or you can stay, constantly having to worry about the ones that we take and living with the guilt that your family is the reason why half of the people are dying and soon will.”

Owe felt the tears that he was holding back trying to escape, he wanted to be strong willed in front of this man—to not appear weak but it was getting harder and harder. He was beginning to believe Janson and everything he was saying, thinking that he was actual monster rather than WCKD.

“Let’s be honest here, Jake, it’s really the only choice you got.”

“. . . Okay.” He responded in small, defeated voice.

Janson nods with satisfaction. “Now, there’s one last thing you’re going to have do for me.”

He then explained what he wanted for the boy to do and Owe gulped, nodding along sadly and even wiped away a tear. The man then motioned for the boy to walk, hearing Ky running after Anne while James was going along with her.

As the began to leave, Janson felt a sudden pierce through his right shoulder, his body spinning to a stumble as he nicked by a flying bullet. Janson huffs, eyeing Owe and shoves him forwards, telling to get a move on it and they headed straight on over to the Berg that now held Anne and Minho with Hayley, Lina, Sonya, Aris and of course, Blaire, Teresa, and Ava.

“Owe, what are you doing?!” Ky’s running came to stop and he lifted his heavy head, seeing her dirty face and eyes filled with worry which made him draw in a shaky breath.

He leered to Janson, the man giving him a nonchalant nod. _Make Ky believe that this was your choice,_ that’s what he told him. _Make her and everyone else believe it. If not, I’ll send the men back here tomorrow and wipe the rest of them out so no one is left._

“I have to do what’s right.” Owe tried to say with certainty but it was lost in translation. “And this is it.”

Ky studied him, shaking her head with disbelief . “Owe, you’re . . . You’re not serious.”

“I have to do this, Ky. Believe me.” Owe projected his voice more, being firm, needing to sell this off in fear that Janson would come back and harm them all. He couldn’t risk it. “I need to save people, there shouldn’t have to be more unwanted deaths. If I can prevent it, then I’m going to do what’s needed of me.”

He wasn’t lying at all, he was being truthful. If doing this gives them a chance to live, he needed to take it.

“Owe, you . . You’re actually going to do this?” Her eyes become glassy, the salty tears already in her ducts. This, by far, was the most hardest thing Owe had to do. “After everything . . . Even our promise?”

The promise. The first night in the Scorch facility, Owe made that promise that no matter what, they would always be together because they’re better together. That night seemed so long ago. That pinkie swear, it was an oath; trust. Going against that meant perfidy which then creates mistreating and a rule of the Isle was not harming one another.

There was a slight _tsk_ behind Owe, knowing it was from Janson and that put him over the edge.

 _Am I not making this believable?! Is he actually going to go through with his plan of sending the guards back here tomorrow?!_ He screamed in his head, his heart going overdrive, pumping like crazy.

Owe needed to take drastic measures, and he hated it—he _really_ did. But he felt like there was no other choice so before he knew it, his mouth opened and his voice boomed with, “You’re always so emotional! Every single time something happens, you let your emotions get the best of you! And me doing this? It’s MY decision. Yeah, we made a promise, but the thing is, is that everything had changed! You’re . . You’re just worming yourself around in everything because you feel like you need to be apart of everything!”

His eyes seen how Ky was trying to find words, moving her lips to form them correctly and coherently and he couldn’t have that. Owe couldn’t talk it over with her because he knew that she would be able to convince him out of it, to make him stay. Instead, he had to hurt her just enough to push her away.

“You’re like a . . . You’re like a parasite!”

Time seemed to stop once that sentence fell out. Ky took a step back, her bottom lip trembling as she gasped for fresh air, tears falling from the corners of her eyes and James stepping up to her.

It was a long shot but Owe hoped that one day, Ky and the others could forgive him for what he had done.

 

“C-Seven, Jake Rogers.” Blaire speaks from behind him, standing at the door to see him standing up by the window in some type of daze that she wasn’t particularly too interested in. “You forget your schedule? You’re supposed to be in lunch.”

“Not hungry,” Owe tucks his necklace back in and under his shirt, averting her gaze and glancing out to the wall that was a few miles away. “I already chowed down on enough bullshit for today.”

Blaire taps her foot, burning holes into the back of him before finally sighing. “Hey, look, alright. I know you’re not the biggest fan of me and you’re wallowing in your self pity, but it doesn’t change anything. We don’t have to friends, but just know that I’m here to talk if you need it.”

Owe scoffed. “Your rat dad tell you to say that?” He speaks over his shoulder, “So you can monitor me and pretend to be loyal until the time for deception comes? No thanks, I’ll pass.”

Blaire licked her bottom before biting it, shifting weight between her feet and stared at the ground. “You know you have three brothers? They’re alive.” She flicks up her eyes at him, still watching the back of his head. “The older one, Nathan, he’s here. He just goes by the last name Cooper instead of Rogers because he used to live with your mother when she and your dad split up.”

Owe shakes his head and Blaire already knew that he was thinking that she was lying to him. It kinda upset her but at last, she expected it ever since she revealed that she had her memories intact all along months ago.

“You can believe me or not, it’s your choice but remember, I grew up with WCKD and I have my memories. I know every single thing about every Isler.” She heads back on out, leaving the room but not before reminding him about going to get lunch since he had an appointment tonight for a personal simulation that was required by Janson’s orders.

“Another thing, your father, he works here too.”

Owe’s eyes dilated to focus on her reflection in the glass, seeing her leave and dilated back to actually peer out at the city, settling on the wall once more. With a deep inhale and exhale, he could already picture the crowd that had gathered outside of it.

 

“This place has really gone through hell.” Jorge announces as him, the Gladers, and the Islers were making their way up to the wall where thousands of people were hoarded, holding up signs and chanting obnoxiously.

“We just gotta stay together.” Thomas tells him.

The sound of an old army vehicle driving stirs up then the voice of a man who began speaking through a megaphone. _“We are the voice of the voiceless! They hide behind their walls, thinking they can keep the cure for themselves, while they watch the rest of us wither and rot!”_

The gang moves out of the way as the car drew closer to them, passing by. On the back of the roof, there was three men with rifles, all wearing masks. The one stared down Thomas as they continued on, sight never leaving him and that made him a tad curious.

_“But there are more of us than there are of them. And I say, we rise up and take back what is ours! Let's bring back a victory!”_

The crowd cheers, clapping their dirty hands together as they all huddled near old rusted bins that they had fires in to keep them warm in the rubble and decay of the old city. The scenery reminded Ky of Crankland in the Scorch, this place was no doubt the Crankland of Denver with old laundry strung up between buildings, people sleeping with frayed blankets, and wearing tattered clothing.

She threw up the hood on her jacket, wanting to blend in and as soon as she did, she heard something like a small helicopter from overhead. Ky then spots the back of Thomas’s neck, seeing how his tag began glowing orange, coming to life before he stares over his shoulder, up at the sky to see tiny mini versions of Bergs hovering over. James notices them as well, instantly instructing the group to move forwards and not to act suspicious.

“And why’s that?” Quinn mutters in a small grouch, not liking to be rushed.

“They’re Surveillance Drones that WCKD uses to monitor the outskirts, they can also find us because within radius, our bloody chips set them off. So we must be movin’. And fast before more of us are found out.”

The crowd began chanting “let us in”, all voices forming as one to become powerful; they were truly letting themselves be heard. James directed the group to crawl through a broken piece of the one building, crossing over into another section and Thomas immediately seen that they were just yards away from the wall’s access point. The Door.

“That’s it. That’s our way in.”

Thomas led them through the mass of angry protesters, determined to reach the door while the others were starting to get completely concerned.

“What the hell did we get ourselves into?” Frypan asks as Brenda grabs his hand for comfort, her hood up as well just like Ky’s.

Quinn held onto Dean, making sure he wouldn’t get lodged into the enormous crowd that they pressed pass since he was lean and barely had any meat on his bones. James was with Micky, the two of them acting like lookout with Newt since they kept distance, staying in the very back. Carlos was in the middle with Ky, holding her hand since she was smaller in size and could barely see over the bodies that constantly moved back and forth to show their range of disapproval about how WCKD was treating them unfairly.

“Thomas!” Jorge shouts up, placing a hand on his shoulder. “This is not what you’re looking for. All these people trying to find their way in, you think you’re gonna find something they can’t?”

“Came this far. I’m not turning back now.”

The group finally made it up to the front, seeing old concrete barriers and even metal fences that was marking a line for them not to pass even though there was gaps in between the objects. Beyond the line was the door and no one stood there, it was just a bleak section of square footage filled with broken glass bottles, t-shirts, garbage, and waste.

Jorge shook his head. “Thomas, this doesn’t feel right.”

James and Newt both notice how men from the army truck were stalking through the sea of people, tracking them down, inching in closer with every step they took. They play it off, acting normal and increased their pace by wandering up to the rest of the gang.

“Hey, guys, we gotta go now. Look.” Newt places his hand on Thomas’s arm, spinning him around for him to see the three masked men with guns strolling on up and Jorge withdrew his pistol, cocking back the pin as he got ready to shoot.

 

Within WCKD’s control room, a man stands up in front, eyeing the camera screens of the Center and the ones that were set up outside of the wall. A picture of Thomas pops up, flashing the screen with a red overlay, warning them that Drone 1119 picked him up on the scanner; labeling that he was a Level 5 Fugitive.

“Get Janson.” The man tells the one worker and he gets up, heading on out to retrieve him.

It took a minute at best before Janson came marching in with the other worker, seeing how a screencap of Thomas’s outside of the wall was displayed on the monitor. All screens in the room where now set to drone and wall cam footage, flicking numerously between different angles and locations.

“You were right, sir. He’s here. The drone sweep picked him up outside the walls.”

Janson just eyed the picture of Thomas, getting a sly grin on his lips. “Get the guns online, Ben.”

He then turns, looking up at Janson and raised his head. “Gladly sir.”

Ben turns back, going to his panel that he worked at about to press down on the button until another image was displayed, this time of Ky and she was labeled as Level 4 Fugitive. Ben’s hand stops, hovering over the button while his eyes lingered over her picture and loomed over her name. He withdraws, straightening out his back.

“Mr. Rogers,” Janson’s voice broke the silence in the room. “Get the guns online.”

“Lee’s daughter.” Ben whispered to himself, not wanting to harm the poor girl as he faced Janson again. “I can’t do it.”

“You were given an order.”

“But, Murph’s daug—”

“I don’t care.” Janson dismisses, “They’re insurgents, wanting to steal our Immunes. Wanting to steal the progress that we’ve made so far. They need to be terminated, at least Thomas anyways. The elements will take care of the others. So again, Mr. Rogers, get the guns online.”

 

The men got closer, the gang getting into stances, ready to fight and if needed, run off into different directions so they at least survived a chance at making it out alive and meeting up with one another again. But the tension in the air was cut in half once metallic creaking erupted loudly, having the crowd’s chants die down in a wave as they were puzzled. The group slowly face the wall, wondering what was possibly going on.

Up on the tops of the wall, a guard walks out, radioing something and these huge machines began lifting up and out of the structure. The bulbous beings rotated around, facing the crowd and angled themselves downwards to show blinking red lights.

James automatically knew. “We need to run, everyone needs to run!” He shouts to everyone and the people listened, drawing back in fear and trying to run away from the area. James took off with Micky, Dean, Quinn, Brenda, and Fry while the others stayed; the reality of the situation not sticking with them. 

“We gotta get outta here!” Jorge places his gun back into his coat’s pocket, tugging on Thomas’s sleep.

Ky steps up, her brain finally clicking on what the machines were and she watched as the one gun fired a rocket down at the barren spot that was in front of them, huge loud explosion booming and the ground shaking underneath them. She loses her footing, falling back on her butt while Thomas quickly helped her up, pressing on the small of her back to run up in front while he stayed behind with Newt, Carlos, and Jorge.

“Go! Go! Go!” Thomas shouts as two other rockets were shot down directly behind them, each one getting closer and closer.

Ky ran to her heart’s capability about to cross the one threshold of where they crossed over but a rocket comes down, hitting mark and flew debris and three bodies all over the place. Carlos was right behind her, ducking down quick and fast, covering his head while a chunk of glass from a window came up flying, getting Ky right in the cheek; splitting her skin wide open.

“Ky!” Carlos sprints up, seeing the glass poking out of her skin still, assuring him that it didn’t go in all the way and carefully plucked it out while another eruption took place.

They took back to running again, making it to James, Micky, Quinn, Dean, Frypan, and Brenda. The eleven of them were careening along old train tracks, trying to make it out without getting caught in a blast as the machine guns just kept on firing one rocket after another. Frypan and Newt led the way, running into a broken down type of alleyway that been formed from a decaying house.

Brenda, Frypan, Newt, Micky, Quinn, Dean, and Jorge go straight in, Carlos, James, Ky, and Thomas being at the rear, bringing up the end and got basted by a dirt cloud that was caused from one last surge. The four of them stumbled into the slabs of the concrete, James and Carlos on the one side while Thomas and Ky were on the other.

“Keep going!” Thomas barks, pressing Ky again and they ran out, seeing Fry, Newt, Micky, and the others being captured by men in masks as they yelled, trying to fight back and get out of their grasps.

Others came out, grabbing the four and began leading them all to different vehicles. James brought back his elbow, hitting the one man in the face to try and free himself but another man came up and helped to restrain him. He was tossed into the back of a van with Jorge, struggling as more men filled into the back with their guns and shut the door.

Brenda, Micky, and Carlos were all grouped in one van that began driving off after James and Jorge’s. There was Frypan, Newt, and Dean all together and lastly, Ky, Thomas, and Quinn in another vehicle. The door shut on them, the one man shouting for the driver to drive and he pressed on the gas, them instantly shooting off and traveling where they needed the Gladers and the Islers to be.

Quinn scowled at the men in the back who kept eyes on them and they kicked the one boot of the man that had his foot out too far. “Keep your distance there, jackwagon. Don’t want me to hit you in your gonads again, would ya?”

“Quinn.” Ky uttered, leaning pass Thomas to eye them. “I don’t think they’re the bad guys. I think . . they rescued us?”

“If they did, they didn’t have to be rude with the forceful grabbing.” They turn their head to face the three men again, but mostly the one in the middle who had a buzzcut and broad shoulders. “Could’ve just told us like decent human beings.”

Ky gaped out the dirty back window, seeing how they were leaving the wall of the Last City and she could only think of all the injured and dead bodies that rested on the cobblestone old Denver.

 

Janson scanned the cameras for a good minute, seeing people trying to aid the one that were hurt and crying over people that they knew that had been unlucky and bombed by the rocket launchers. Ben watched with the other workers, them quiet. Never, had they turned on the guns before and fired at an innocent crowd. But of course, that day made history for them and Ben was not happy. He didn’t press the button, he made his statement known to Janson; he wasn’t willing to put other lives on the line just for one boy. However, Janson did.

Ben backhanded his coffee mug off his desk, the cup breaking once it hit the ground and he spun on his heel to eye Janson. “You did not have authority to make that call!”

“I do if it’s deserved.”

“You. Just put. Million of lives that we’re trying to save in danger!” Ben exclaimed, pointing at the screens that showed the carnage. “You purposely did it for your own personal worthiness and  amusement, Nick!”

“Send out a patrol.” Janson scowled at Ben, getting ready to head on out of the Control Room. “Tell them not to come back until he’s found.”

Once he leaves, Ben turns back, pounding his fist down on his desk. The other workers in the room just kept still, afraid to even speak and make their own movements. With a few seconds to calm down, Ben picks up his personal walkie talkie, tuning into a certain channel that he used only for private conversation.

He presses down on the side button, speaking in a hushed tone. “Come in, Magnes.” Ben says in code. “Magnes, do you copy?”

_“I copy. What is it?”_

Ben’s eyes slowly panned up, seeing the picture of Ky still on the screen next to Thomas’s. “She’s here.”

 

The rest of the drive was silent, no one speaking a word until they felt the car coming to a small pause, continuing on and making a few turns before the men in the inside got ready. A knock signals on the truck before it opens automatically, making Thomas, Quinn, and Ky all turn to see more men wearing bandanas around their faces. They held guns as well, aiming them at the teens and instructed them to get on out slowly and calmly.

Ky does, her eyes instantly catching sight of where they were. It looked like parking garage that been transformed into a home of some sorts. People just casually walked around, paying no mind to the men with guns nor them. She figured that they were used to this kinda thing. Frypan, Newt, Dean, Brenda, Micky, and Carlos get out the other two cars, being grouped back with them.

Another car comes up, parking and once it does they hear fighting in the back which caused the vehicle to bounce all around before it died down. “Where are you going?” Jorge’s voice remarks and the back door opens by a man flying out and on the ground with a groan. Jorge then jumps out, grabbing his collar and instantly punches the man in the face. “Where is she, you son of a bitch?!”

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Brenda starts running over.

“Shit! Hey!” Thomas, Newt, and even Carlos go to help out but the men raise their guns, telling them to stay back and they do with hands raised to show that they weren’t going to try again.

James then lunged out, landing on top of a man that began shoving Micky back when she tried to intervene, knocking him out and quickly grabbed his gun. He lifted it straight up, aiming it at the men that had captured them while Brenda tried to calm down Jorge. "Anyone moves and I shoot, I swear!"

“I’m right here. I’m right here!” Brenda shouts, finally getting Jorge’s attention.

“Oh, Brenda.” He got up from the man, giving her a tight hug.

One of the boys speak, eyeing James who wavered the rifle around and the rest of the Gladers and Islers. “Everybody relax! We’re all on the same side here.”

“What do you mean the same side? Who the hell are you?” Thomas demands, taking a step forwards.

The boy just stood still, holding the stare before grabbing the bottom of his mask, lifting it over his head and staring at Thomas. “Hey, Greenie.”

“Gally?” Thomas utters in shock.

Newt was flabbergasted, taking a glance over at Frypan since he and Gally used to be close like brothers. “No way.”

Gally, he frowned and took a small gulp while Thomas’s expression just changed in an instant. He storms straight up to the taller boy, throwing a punch into his face which brings him straight down to the ground. 

“No, wait!” Newt and Frypan shouts, barging through Dean and Quinn, running up straight behind Thomas as he straddled Gally; holding onto him tight and readied his fist again for another hit.

The men surrounding all aimed guns at Thomas and James gave them all warnings, finger on the trigger and ready to shoot if they blinked until Gally was speaking, telling them that it was alright.

Newt takes a hold on Thomas’s wrist, gently speaking to him as he kneeled down. “Woah, woah! Stop! Stop it! Stop.”

Thomas shook with anger, breathing heavily. “He killed Chuck.”

“Yeah, I know. I remember. I was there too, alright?” Newt says, being calm. “But I also remember that he was stung and half out of his mind.” He quickly looks around at all the guns that were drawn before going back to Thomas. “Just calm down, alright? Come on.”

Frypan stood behind Thomas, gently placing a hand on his shoulder to let him know that it was okay. Thomas then backs away hurriedly and Frypan helps him, the two of them stepping back and Newt got up by himself.

Gally then gets up, moving his jaw to see if it was still functioning as he rubbed it. “Kind of had that coming. Anybody else? Fry? Newt?”

Jorge then speaks. “You know this guy?”

Frypan nods. “He was an old friend.”

“How?” Newt then asks, still surprised. “H-How is this possible?” He stammers. “We watched you die.”

“No, you left me to die.” Gally states. “And if we hadn’t found you when we did, you’d be dead right now.”

Quinn purses their lips, leaning to the Islers. “Is it me? Or is this kinda Déjà vu with what happened to Sasha, but in verse? Us believing that she was dead for a long ass time when really she was alive and killed Ky by drowning her in the Labyrinth because she got the Harbinger saliva in her cut which made her crazy?”

The Islers nodded in agreement, even Ky and she’s the one that went through it.

Quinn then smiled. “Such simpler times.” They teased.

Gally eyes the Islers, having overheard them before looking back at Newt. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Minho.” He begins. “WCKD has him here.” Newt then motions to the Islers. “They have their friends, too. We’re looking for a way in.”

Gally gave off a sad expression, nodding. “I can help with that. Follow me.” He turns to walk off but Thomas shake his head.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He shrugs. “Suit yourself. But I can get you through those walls.”

“We’ll go with you.” Dean nods to Gally, mustering a small smile and strolled up to him while Micky and Quinn followed. “Thomas, this really isn’t the time to be picky about who can help us even if he did do something bad once. We have a friend named Sasha and she went through what Gally did, she even drowned Ky but James brought her back. After that, Ky accepted her because she wasn’t herself.”

“He’s right.” Micky adds in. “Gally here, he’s no different from what we all went through. While you’re here, judging him for something he had no control over, you’re not thinking about all the trauma he experienced. It’s a little unfair.”

“You don’t even have to forgive him right away because one day, he’ll earn it and you can finally heal yourself. But until then, if he’s willing to help, we should accept it.” Carlos speaks softly.

Thomas eyed the Islers individually before giving a gaze to Ky, seeing her give a small nod. “Sometimes, people deserve benefit of the doubt.”

Newt looked to Thomas, seeing how he was making up his decision and he couldn’t deny that they made valid points. Thomas gives an okay and they all began following Gally throughout the building that they called the Crank Palace. It was housed with people who were infected in the early stages of the Flare virus; coughing and vomiting. But there was also people who weren’t infected that lived there, helping the ones that couldn’t help themselves.

Dean asked about Gally’s story and he was explaining how he was stung by a Griever and went through what the Gladers called the Changing; a phenomenon that places place in the person’s brain. They receive scattered memories of their past, their lives before the maze. During his Changing, Gally had found Thomas, Newt, Minho, Frypan, Teresa, and the others about to leave but he told them that they couldn’t leave because they’d never be free.

His emotions overwhelmed him, causing him to point a gun at Thomas and try to shoot him. But as he did, a young boy named Chuck jumped out in front of Thomas, sheltering him and Minho threw a wooden spear into his chest. Gally had sunken down to the floor, wheezing and trying to breathe for air as WCKD came in, taking the Gladers out and into the Scorch to be taken in the helicopter.

The Islers felt bad for the poor boy, obviously understanding why Thomas didn’t trust him but they could also see how it wasn’t entirely Gally’s fault that he shot Chuck.

He continued on. “After the maze, I got picked up by a group headed to the city. They realized I was immune, patched me up, and they brought me here to Lawrence.”

They walked down a ramp, seeing groups of men getting their armory sorted out, keeping stock of all the guns, ammunition, road flares, and other things that they had. There was many black cases of stacked all over and the group were placing bets on what was inside once one of them.

“This group’s been at war with WCKD ever since they took control of the city. But WCKD can’t hide behind those walls forever. Day’s gonna come, and they’re gonna pay for what they’ve done.”

“Good. They deserve it.” Quinn folds their arms in front of their chest.

“Hey.” Gally pauses, the group doing the same. “Listen, uh, he doesn’t get a lot of visitors. So, let me do the talking. Alright? And try not to stare.”

He goes back to walking and Dean raises a brow. “What exactly does he have? A big nose?”

The gang heads in, hearing classical music playing down on a lower section of the building. They stare down, seeing a whole entire room covered in a bunch of plants surrounded by a bunch of plants with furniture, a desk, and dusty books. There was another room connected with it that was filled with roses and in there was two men, one them greeting Gally whereas the other was hooked up to an IV stand, clipping a few roses for himself and murmuring something over and over again that a few didn’t understand.

“Glad to see you made it back. Jasper told me what happened.”

“It was a slaughter.” Gally tells him. “There’s nothing we could do against those guns.”

“No, but they can only poke the hornet’s nest so long before they get stung.” The man that was hooked up remarked, bringing up a rose up to where his nose was supposed to be and breaths in the fragrance. “Now, who are these people? Why are they here?”

“I think I spoke too soon about the nose joke.” Dean shyly said to James.

Thomas steps up next to Gally. “We need to get into WCKD. Gally said you can get us through the walls.”

Lawrence lifts his head, seeing the huge group and his eyes inspected every single one of them before stopping on Carlos. He eyed the boy for the longest time, longer than the others before going back to Thomas. “Gally should know better than to make promises that he can’t keep. Besides, that wall is only half your problem. Getting inside WCKD is impossible.”

“There might be a way now. But it doesn’t work without Thomas.”

“Is that so?” Lawrence grabbed his cane and his IV stand, making his way over and as he did, the light from outside shined in, revealing the right side of his face. His eye was fogged over, clouded and his cheek had sprouted cordyceps that were in shades of purple and blue. “Do you know what I am . . . Thomas? I am a businessman. Which means that I don't take unnecessary risks. Why should I trust you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, cranky boy.” Micky retorts to herself, stifling a laugh and Quinn rolls their eyes from their remark.

“‘Cause I can help you.” Thomas tells Lawrence. “You see, if you can get me through those walls . . . I can get you what you need.”

“What is it that you think I need?”

“A new face.” Micky jokes again in the back.

“Would you just shut the hell up?” Quinn bickers, annoyed with her constant need for making jokes in serious situations.

“Time.” Thomas tells Lawrence before looking to his IV bag that was filled the clear blue liquid that he knew was serum. “Every last drop.”

Lawrence gazes to Gally who was listening intently on their conversation, eyes darting between Thomas and him. “Is that what I need?”

“WCKD has something we both want.”  

Lawrence then grinned. “I’ll tell you what. Four can go for now. The rest stay down here with me. Just a little insurance to make sure you find your way back.” Thomas slowly peered to the group who was already eyeing each other, wondering who’ll go with Gally. Of course the other would be Thomas, but who would be the other three. “We have a deal?” He held out his hand and Thomas took it into his, shaking it. “Gally, show him the way.”

 

It had been an hour later at the max. Owe was doing his rounds, carrying a clipboard with him and marking off everything that he had done so far. He eyed the last thing, seeing that it was his scheduled simulation and instantly tried to clear his mind of the horrible thought. He had no idea what they’d put him through but his imagination ran wild and that was enough to put him into a life threatening cardiac arrest with his Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia.

He calmed his nerves, strolling to the room where he needed to be for his session and stopped at the door, frozen. But not before long, he scans his keycard and the door opens on up, revealing the doctors and instruments that were needed for the procedure. Owe eyed the main doctor Hans, nodding to him.

“How’s your heart been, Mr. Rogers?”

“Could be better.” He takes off his jacket, sitting down on a chair while Hans began giving him a quick check up on his health.

“I’m glad, son. Now, your simulation tomorrow is nothing to be worried about.” 

“Tomorrow? I thought it was tonight?” He says confused while Hans inspects his ears to see if there’s any wax build up.

“Hmm, changes been made. I’m only to administer the checkup tonight then tomorrow, we’ll do the set up.”

Owe nods, thinking it through as to who changed his schedule while Hans grabbed the stethoscope from around his neck, putting the air tips in his ears and resting the diaphragm on Owe’s chest to listen in to his heart. By accident, he hits the locket that was hidden under his black t-shirt which startles him by the noise being a sudden burst.

“Oh, my.” He laughs. “You wearing a necklace?” 

“Yeah, sorry.” 

“May I?” He holds out his hand and Owe withdraws it from under his shirt, showing the man it and he reached forwards slowly. Hans delicately takes the oval shape into the pads of his fingers, noticing the small crests on the necklace. “Very pretty. Was it your girlfriend’s?”

Owe tugged on the chain, drawing it back and hid it under his shirt. “Sister, actually. Gave it to me before she died.”

“Sorry to hear that. Can I ask how she died?” He questions, listening to Owe’s heart and had him take in deep breaths.

“The Flare . . . She got bit and was turning, so my friend Bia shot her after we said our goodbyes.”

Hans frowned. “I lost my son to the Flare. He turned and I, I couldn’t kill him. So he’s out there somewhere, still roaming around.”

“Not to be rude but, how can you live like that? Nothing that your son is gone and his body is just walking about, rotting and becoming less and less human?”

He takes off the stethoscope, setting it off to the side and eyed the seventeen year old boy. “My son wanted it. He said, ‘What kind of parent has to watch their child die in front of them’?” Hans paused. “He answered with, ‘One that has the most to lose’.”

Owe listened in, swallowing harshly but nods in understanding.

“When someone you care about is infected, changing, or dying, you don’t make the choices for them. You allow them to make their own decisions and you respect them, no matter how hard it is for you. And if you love that person more than anything else, you know it’s what they really want.”


	18. PART 3, CHAPTER 4: Killzones

A few of the Islers made themselves at home at the Crank Palace, other people who lived there helping them find where the restrooms were and where they could nap, and get food while Thomas, Gally, and whoever else was chose to go with them went into the Last City. Meanwhile, there was others who were getting themselves patched up from the massive explosions that had happened at the wall like Ky who got her cheek hit, Micky who tripped and fell into the gravel, scraping her forehead and jaw. Micky was being patched up by Jorge since he knew how to do stitches, having a history of them from when he was growing up. He made sure she was medicated with numbing gel before going in a curved needle and wire, doing a simple interrupted stitch. 

Quinn spectated with Dean over in the corner, hearing him make cringe noises. “You could just look away you know? Not watch her get her face poked repeatedly with a needle.” 

Dean shrugs. “Just . . Looks painful, that’s all.” He then clears his throat, rubbing his hands together and thinks for a moment. “Quinneth, you believe in love right?” 

“Are you asking because Charles and you broke up a while back and you’re still dwindling on that fact? Because if you are, dude, you _ soo _ need to move on and get yourself another guy. Maybe try out Thomas.” 

Dean nervously laughed. “Eh, no. No, I’m . . . We’re good. Charles and I, we came to an understanding. We just worked better as friends and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m just asking because . . Well . .” He trailed off. 

“Spit it out, jackwagon.” Quinn playfully nudges him, teasing with a smile. 

His eyes find Quinn’s and he could see his reflection within theirs. “Do you think that if you can believe in love just enough, and in the right way, it can possibly save someone’s life?” 

“Want me to be honest about my opinion or just say what you want to hear?” 

“Honesty.” 

Quinn gave a nod before shaking their head. “No. I don’t think so, sorry bud.” 

“You mind me askin’ why?” 

“If it was true, Anne would’ve never been taken.” 

After that, Dean let the conversation slide and focused over to see Ky squatting down on an old plastic crate, turning the side of her face outwards to show slight bruising and small cuts from when the rocket exploded out in front of her. She was watching how Thomas was speaking to Gally about something and Gally had a peak in interest from something that he says, making a small shift in his gaze to Ky before going back to the boy. Her brows furrowed together, wondering what Thomas had mentioned that made him look over at her in such absorption. Ky then glanced away as she seen someone approaching her from the corner of her eye with a small little medical kit pouch, something like what a camp counselor would have on them for kids.

The boy sits on a wooden box, zippering the pouch on open for her to see swabs, cream, bandaids, medical tape, gauze, scissors, and a small brown plastic bottle that filled with liquid to clean cuts called peroxide. He takes it out, unscrewing the cap and briefly smells it before shrugging and reaching back into the bag; Ky stifles a laugh from watching have done so. 

“You being my caretaker now? What happened to James?” 

“I told him he can sit out on this one, to get some food and clear his mind since he’s been actin’ like a mother to us.” 

“How kind of you, Carlos.” 

“Charles.” He lifts his head, mustering a smile. “I, uh, I’ve been thinking and I want to go back to being Charles. Considering you know, Blaire kinda was the one that edged Hayley to call me that. I just don’t want to be associated with that.”

Ky smiles kindly as she seen him pick up a cotton pad, pouring some peroxide on it. She knew exactly what he meant by not wanting to be connected to a thing like that; it’s like whenever their tags from WCKD. None of them wanted to branded by an organization that put them through something horrible, being claimed by them so Carlos wanting to be called by his real name, Charles, again wasn’t anything different. 

Carefully, he lifts the soaked cotton to her skin, placing it on her cuts which makes them sting to the touch. “Ow, ow.” Her eyes shut tight, causing creases in her face. 

“Sorry, Ky. Here.” Charles takes away the pad, blowing cool air at her minor scratches while the peroxide bubbled up, cleaning all the dried blood and dirt that was was hidden within the marks. The pain goes away and her face relaxes, peering over to him, watching how his eyes were trained on the wounds. “Better?” 

She gives a small nod. “Yeah.” 

He smiles, continuing on with cleaning her cuts and moved onto the bigger one; the one that was made by the piece of glass. Collectively and tenderly, he grabbed another swab, dipping in the peroxide and pressed it on the small slit before grabbing a butterfly bandage and applying it on. 

“There we are. Good as new.” 

“Thank you, Charles.” 

Gally struts on out, clearing his throat to gather everyone’s attentions that were in the room. “Okay. Thomas and I talked it over, and we got our fellow members to come along with us. Newt, Ky, and James. You three can hurry up, eat or use the bathroom if needed but the city has curfew and we don’t want to be caught out past the time. Unless you don’t want to go then you can stay.” 

After that remark, Charles rests his hand on Ky’s knee to have her look at him. “You want to go?” 

“Yeah. I really want to see how we can get to Anne, and by that, I have to go and see for myself.” 

“You just be careful out there, okay?” 

She cracks a small laugh. “James’ll be with me so I’m guessing that’ll be no issue.” 

He then smiles. “We don’t want anything bad happening to you, no doubt Gally sees it by now. Probably why he chose him to go—that and the fact that he knows about WCKD.” He pauses, his bottom lip being held down by his top teeth as if he were trying to hold back a certain remark. Or he was just really concentrating on something else that caught him off guard. 

She peers over her shoulder, seeing James putting on his jacket and tucking an item into his pants pocket before straightening out his collar and folding down the pieces in a fashionable way. He clears his throat, blue eyes shifting to meet Ky’s gaze and he gives a nod as well as their three finger salute. Ky musters up a grin, giving him another back and dismisses herself from Charles. 

Gally, Thomas, James, and her wander on over into a smaller room where majority of the others stood with Lawrence with their snacks and water. Gally goes in the middle of the room, pulling back a grate that rested on the floor to reveal a massive hole that was in the floor. The four peer over, glancing down into the darkness and a few of the Islers and Gladers did as well. Gally then grabbed a metal ladder, lowering it down in. 

Jorge inspects him as he does, turning to Thomas. “Be careful.” He utters. 

Frypan comes on over, crouching down near the hole and once Gally places himself on the ladder, he speaks, “Gally, take care of those four.” 

“Yeah.” He nods, continuing on down the ladder while Thomas following. 

Ky shifts her head over, seeing how Newt was fixing his boot but had stopped, seeing his one hand beginning to spasm. He holds it tight with his other hand, slowly staring at Thomas before his brown eyes lingered up to see how Ky was looking at him. He stands, probably trying to clear his mind from whatever was troubling him; at least that’s what Ky thought anyways. Newt went down after Thomas and Ky went first, by James’s order, then him. 

In the tunnel, they began walking, Gally turning on a flashlight and leading them through the brick circular passage. The group’s feet began trekking through a stream of water that they could only image to be toilet water. Newt scrunches up his face in disgust, letting a small exhale of, “This is so gross.” 

Thomas nods. “Jesus. Yeah, this is great.” 

Gally wanders up ahead a tad, leaning towards the left wall and shines the light on a few switches. He pluck one, making the generator turn on and small glass light bulbs came to life; illuminating the rest of the path for them. The flashlight is turned off, placed safely into Gally’s pocket and he glances back at the group before moving forwards. 

“Stay with me. We got a ways to go.” Newt was right behind him, Thomas in suit with Ky and James. 

The lights flickered here and there, the honey glow of the bulbs gave them some sense of relief that what lied ahead within the Last City couldn’t be all bad. Sure, WCKD was a major component of the place but surely not everything was a hundred percent connected to it. Right? 

“Hey, Gally.” Newt begins. “How’d you end up with a bloody Crank as a roommate then?” 

“Actually, I owe that Crank my life.” He states, his boots sloshing within the water that raised up to the ankles now. “When Lawrence and his crew found me, they could’ve sold me back to WCKD . . . Trade in my life for a few bottles of serum. Instead, he offered me a place. Then I had something worth living for.” 

“I know the feeling.” James’s voice echoes out. He wasn’t being mendacious, but rather honest in every way.

Overhead, Ky heard what sounded like a train passing by and she knitted her brows together. They had been walking for what felt like ages, could’ve sworn that her legs were becoming jello while her left heel ached with every step; screaming at her to take a break but she pressed on with determination. James started to take notice in a little hobble that Ky was doing, offering to carry her to give her leg a break but she declined him politely.  

Gally takes his flashlight back out of his pocket as the five of them reach a split at the end of the passage that they were on. The tunnel branched off to the right, bright with the string of bulbs that ran along the ceiling top whereas there was another way, smaller in size and harboring darkness. 

“What’s that?” Thomas questions, examining the trace. Gally just tells them to wait there as he went to check it out, climbing into the smaller tunnel. “The hell is he going?” He wanders up, peering down in to see how Gally began checking it out and faces Newt, Ky, and James. “You guys think we can trust him?” 

“He’s seems reasonable, Thomas.” Ky looks to him. 

“I’m with her.” James agrees. 

His honey brown eyes then move to Newt. “What you think? Even after all he’s done?” 

“What other options do we have?” Newt says in a simple voice. “I know this may be hard for you to believe, Thomas, but . . . there was a time when Gally was a true friend of mine.” 

To Ky, hearing those words leave Newt’s mouth was something that hit her deeper than anything. Gally used to be Newt’s friend—he used. That was the key word and though Newt didn’t say it, that’s what he certainly meant. It just made her think of Blaire, of Owe . . . She shakes her head, clearing her mind. 

“Hey,” Gally’s voice pipes up, walking in a crouch to the opening and motioning her head back in the darkness. “It’s clear. Come on.” He turns, going directly back in. 

Thomas exhales, giving looks to the others. “I hope you’re all right.” 

 

With an outstretched hand that shook uncontrollably, grabbing for a small bottle of serum, Janson studied it with a close eye before placing it into his pocket and taking a few others. He then exits the Serum Vault, shutting the door which makes it click, notifying that it had locked. His estranged eyes find the figure of his daughter, Blaire, seeing that she was shutting in the Immune children for the night in their compartments. Then off to the left, Janson sees Anne and Hayley who were standing by their door’s window, peering out at him and Blaire with looks that could kill. He ignores them, on his personal mission and carefully coughs into his hand but tries to make it seen normal as possible. 

Over in the other wing, where the labs were located, Teresa was taking a few notes on infected blood as she inspected it under a microscope. She moved the slide over delicately, seeing the red cells mutating at a small rate. She sighs, thinking the situation through until she hears her name being spoken by Hans and looks to him. “We’re ready.” 

Teresa turns off her machine, standing straight up, and followed him on over to the Medical Wing for the human experiment of testing out a cure that they’ve harvested from Subject A-seven; Minho. She was nervous about it but knew that it was for the greater good of trying it out since his results where very promising and outstanding other than Subject C-two’s. They’d be testing out hers tomorrow just in case there was a possible chance that they could have two serums that’d act as a cure—which meant hope for humanity. 

Teresa turned down the hall, making a left, then another to the entrance of the room that she was needed to be in. The doors repel off to the sides, granting her access in the chamber section and waits as the sanitation mist sprays out of four jets; cleaning her off. Once the streams cut off, the glass door in front of her opens up and she strolls in, hearing grunts from the right side of her. Her head turns, seeing an infected man—Crank, at this point—screaming as he clawed at the bullet resistant plexiglass as he was being inspected by a fellow scientist. 

Ignoring and continuing on, she faces forwards and spots Chloe sitting in the operation chair with a wire attached to the side of her neck and the top half of her right shoulder. There was pictures of her DNA on the screens that surrounded her, showing how it was mutating from the virus, and scans of her cell tissues. They made Teresa somewhat relaxed, it reminded her that Chloe was suffering from the Flare and that doing this could save her. 

“Chloe?” She speaks softly, approaching closer and grabs a wheelie stool, sitting down on it and rolls on over to the side of the chair. 

The younger Asian slowly peers over at her, slightly smiling through the dull ache that she was feeling all over her body. “Nice to see you, Miss Agnes.” She slurs in a bitter tone. It wasn’t because she was hostile against Teresa, it was more of the Flare acting up within her which made her temper feel almost uninhabitable to the rest of her body. 

Hans gives a look to Teresa and she nods as she softly takes Chloe’s left wrist into her hands, holding it still as another doctor put Iodine on a swab and cleaned off the forearm. Hans then handed the serum injector over, it being loaded and ready at the use. Teresa firmly grasps it, eyeing the protruding needle at the end and just stared at it for the longest time. 

“Is that going to heal me?” 

Her blue eyes wander up to Chloe’s dark ones, seeing how the outer part of the iris was rippled with bloodshot weavings of veins. She then quickly glanced at her cheeks that displayed the dark blue, purple, and even blacken veins that were prominent. 

“I’m hoping.” She then took in a deep breath, trying to compose herself. “Chloe, you were telling me how you remembered something from your childhood. What was it?”

“Yeah, it was . . .” Chloe then paused as she tried to search through her brain for the information. “I . . I can’t recall.” 

“The story of the beach?” Teresa hovered the injector over the area, sinking the needle down into her flesh.  

Chloe’s toes curled instantly as she leaned herself back into the chair, grunting and wincing as she tightly shut her eyes. “It stings.” 

“I know, I know.” Teresa replied tenderly, watching as all the serum was pressed down into her system and listened as it began beeping; letting her know that it was time to remove it. “There we go. All done.” She takes injector out, handing it back to Hans while Chloe kept her head tilted back, breathing heavily but slowly; calming herself down, focusing. 

Teresa watches intensely along with Hans, a nurse, and two scientists who were also in the room. Chloe opens her eyes, the bloodshot veins disappearing as she let out an exhale of relief. She sits back, a small smile appearing on her lips as she gazed up to Hans with hope. Teresa had finally found her cure. 

Within a few calls and minutes, Ava, accompanied by Owe, was at the window of the Medical Wing and they both watched as Teresa and Chloe were having a civilized conversation about something. Owe felt an incredible amount of something that he wasn’t quite sure of, but he did know that he was astonished at the fact that his friend, Chloe, was well and that they now had a cure for the Flare. He withdrew out his locket, holding it tight and whispered how the Cooper family name was no longer tainted with the guilt of creating the virus. 

Ava sees him doing so, gently frowning. “You know, Owe, I never got to apologize for what happened months ago.” He turns to her, his expression unreadable. “I never wanted your mother to get hurt, I just wanted her to understand what I was doing in order to gain a cure. And now, we have one.” A pause. “She blamed herself a lot for what she did, for what we made her do—” 

“‘Made her do’?” Owe questioned, never had hearing that before. 

“Six months after the solar flares, I was apart of Post Flares Coalition. Janson, your mother, even your friend Anne’s mother Linda, was there as well. Four and a half billion people died, Europe was under water and India and Mexico were, as I put it, burned off the map.” 

“Scorched.” Owe mumbled. 

Ava nods. “Crops were exposed to radiation and burnt soil, that they couldn’t grow and the world was running dangerously low on resources for those who were left. I made the notion for us, as a group, to get rid of thirty percent so the rest may live. Your mother was against it, she wanted to ration off what we could but even if we did, there was no way it would’ve lasted long enough. I knew your mother had been researching about a virus that occurred in a certain percentage of the remaining population so I used her to release it, to attack the percentage. Everything gone to plan, but by week seven, it mutated.” 

“And we got the Flare.” Owe finishes it off to her, peering back in at Chloe. 

“Mary was the one who found the immunity in children; first found it in a boy who was only thirteen, infected, but his brain showed an area that created an enzyme that was attacking the virus. She called it the Killzone . . . After a while, the PFC discontinued since we released the virus and we were given the name of World Catastrophe Killzone Department which became WCKD for short. Five year passed and your mother was on the verge of giving up until she realized that the Killzone was activated by solving problems.”

Owe then had to think it through to understand what she was exactly meaning. “My mom is the one who pitched the idea for there to be mazes, right?” Ava nods. “And the monsters?” 

She then shakes her head. “No. That was all me. Fear also activated the Killzone, and Mary certainly didn’t like that idea. I just told her that I was just pressing for a candidate and she left, declaring that she was now an enemy of mine.” 

“Enemy.” He playfully scoffed, shaking his head. “That word seems to have changed a lot since back then.” 

In the room, Teresa glances over, seeing the two of them standing there and she waves Owe on in to see Chloe for himself and he doesn’t wait a second longer. Owe dismisses himself politely, strolling down the hall and turns into the doors. He waits, getting his biomist spray then enters, giving Chloe a big hug. Ava watches the three being happy for the first time in a while and she felt herself being moved by the sight of it. 

Janson comes over, joining at the side of Ava and props his left hand up on the glass to inspect the live graphing of Chloe’s brain, seeing her Killzone being active and working against the virus. He smirks. “Oh, that is incredible. How soon can you administer to the infected?” 

Ava sideyes him. “You show a lot of compassion for someone who just opened fire on a crowd.” 

“You told me to do my job. I had a job. I took it.”

“And missed, apparently. The patrols never found their bodies. Thomas, and Ky, they’re still out there.” 

Janson slowly glances to her before going back to Owe and Teresa. “What about them? Do they know?” 

Ava shakes her head. “No. They can’t. I need them to stay focused. Elevate security levels throughout the city. I’m counting on you to handle this, Janson.” She replies, eyes still hooked on Teresa and Owe as they enthusiastically chatted with Chloe. 

 

Gally crouches down in front of a punched out wall of brick, shining his flashlight down the path and crawls in. “This way.” He announces, heading down. James motions for Ky to follow after and she goes, he then follows while Thomas and Newt stayed in the rear. From above, James could hear Police sirens, knowing that they had to be in the city at this point and time. He still moves. 

At the end, there was an open gap that displayed a blue scene and Ky found it to be pretty, her eyes instantly locking on it. She had never seen such a pretty color of blue, not even from the sky. But soon, her mind escaped her when Gally placed his hand out in front of her, stopping her from trying to exit. 

“Hold on.” He warns, moving them back by a few inches as a loud roaring sound drew louder and louder, coming straight for them. 

James hears it, sighing. “Train.”  

Ky glances back at him, seeing his dim light face but as a gust of wind rushes straight past her, it lights up in a flicker of white and grey. Her hair is blown up as she looks out to see a train passing by them fast in a blur of color. Gally looks to the four venturers. “Okay, we gotta make this fast!” He shouts over the noise. “We’re not going to have a lot of time! Stay on me, okay?” 

Immediately, once the train passes, Gally jumps on down onto the tracks and helps Ky down, James, Newt, and Thomas in pursuit. Gally then covers up the hole with a grate and Newt glances down the one way, rubbing his arm with a sly grin. “Tommy loves trains, don’t you?” 

Thomas is about to say something but Gally jumps in with a, “We gotta hurry! Another one is coming here soon!”, taking off into a sprint in the direction where the train came from. 

Ky, Newt, and Thomas just stood there, in a small daze while James had already began his own run. Newt was the first to break from his stupor, pressing off on his good foot and bolting down the middle of the tracks. Thomas exchanges a glance with Ky before taking her hand into his and ran with her after the boys. 

“Gally, what are we doing?!” Thomas shouts up at him. 

“Less talking, more running!” He yells back. 

And they did just that. They pushed themselves forwards, zooming down the long lengthy tunnel until the lights on the ceiling began flashing different colors like a railroad crossing. In front of the group, James could see a train with its beaming white headlights, heading straight towards them. There was no doubt that the others had seen it too. 

“Gally!” James barks up. 

He peers over his shoulder. “Come on!” Gally shouts just as warning sounds began going off, alarming them as they still ran on the tracks; tying to make it to where he was taking them. 

Thomas presses himself to move up, getting besides Newt while Ky remained in the back, her knees feeling hot which made her legs wobble. She then noticed how Newt was having trouble running as well but his problem was in his arm, him clutching the upper part of his shoulder. 

She takes longer strides, getting up next to him and places her hands on him to keep him stable while Gally, James, and Thomas got off the tracks, heading up to a door that was up on the side of the tunnel. It was a while a ways but Ky knew that they were able to make it there. Hopefully. 

With her right foot landing down, she accidently caught it on the one railway fish plate, going down on her knee and with Newt since she still had a hold on him. The two seventeen year olds fell, Newt falling directly on his chest while Ky tumbled on the railway sleepers since she was trying to save her knee from an incredible amount of damage. 

Gally began climbing up the rusted pipe ladder, James and Thomas both glanced back, seeing their friends on the tracks, hurt. 

“Ky!”    
“Newt!”   
They both shouted at the exact same time as James instantly took off, beaming straight for Ky who tried to get up but with her legs shaking like jello, she couldn’t. Thomas was about to head for Newt but Gally told him to wait by the door, running back for the lanky fella. He just had to watch, seeing two boys running for his friends that he absolutely cared for with all of his heart. The view didn’t last long as the train came at full speed, Thomas shifting off and hugging the wall tightly as it rushed by.  

James got to Ky, wrapping his arms around her waist and with not thinking it through, he shoved them off to the side of the tracks just seconds before they became a diet coke bottle filled with mentos. His body covered hers as they hovered against the wall, keeping tight and snug and closed their eyes as the train stormed directly pass them. James buried his face into the top of her head, holding her tight and dared to not let go until the trouble had gone away. But even as it did, the train leaving to continue down its path, James still held onto her. 

His big, yet gentle hands slip away from her waist as he steps back and she turns around, looking up at him with a frightened face. “Ky,” he utters to her but it was like she wasn’t comprehending what was fully going on. “Love, hey. Ky, hey.” James cups her cheeks, each of his thumbs touching the corners of her lips as he sympathetically made her look into his eyes. 

While she was staring at him, James was hit by an unfathomable thought but even with it being baffling, it made sense to him. His hands were destructive; they destroyed everything that they’ve ever touched and yet, they cradled Ky with such love and care. She remains undamaged. 

“Are you hurt?” 

Ky shakes her head. “No, thank you.” She teared up, instantly throwing her arms around his neck to give him a hug. He hugged her back, rubbing her back to calm her down while he looked over, seeing Gally getting up from Newt, standing and placing a hand over his chest. 

“That was a first. Never were great Runners, were we, Newt?” He retorts, leaning a hand down to him to help him up as Thomas trotted over. 

“Well, I’ve only got one good leg.” 

“Yeah,” Gally grunts, standing him up straight. “Well, I’ve only got one good lung.” 

Thomas asks if he’s okay and Newt nods, wondering where Ky was and Thomas pointed her out. Newt seen how she let James go, him checking in on her once more before heading on over to the ladder with Gally. Thomas and him go after, making way up and through the door and down a hall which led them to another. Up in front, Gally cracks it open, peering out and opens the door wide. The four follow. 

They file into the large crowd of the train station, seeing some of the people wearing white masks over their noses and mouths. An announcement comes on over a loudspeaker, echoing throughout the structure they were in and Ky gazed up at a huge sign that said that a mandatory curfew was in fifteen minutes. It was marked with a WCKD logo and towards the bottom, it read,  _ WE RELY ON YOUR HONESTY.  _ Then in the upper left hand corner, it read 14:56, counting down the time. 

Her eyes then shift over, seeing a platform where men in red suits were inspecting a woman with some device while others waited in line for their turn to get on the main terminal bus. James sees it too. “They’re Infection Checks.” 

Gally turns his head back, staring at the two Islers before seeing what they were talking about. He then nods in confirmation. “Yeah, all you gotta do is sneeze around here and you get kicked out. That’s the price of paradise, I guess.” 

They kept on walking, heading for the doors and James noticed how people were scanning their LED bracelets when entering on a ramp to enter onto a train. Quickly, he has to turn away; his past trying to burst through a brick wall that he had built up in his mind to keep him safe and stable. He didn’t want to revisit that place. To him, it was like running back into a burning home. 

Out of the doors and trekking up on a flight of stairs, the gang reached the top with Gally still making progress whereas Newt, Thomas, and Ky all froze upon their eyes being met with the incredible beauty of what was the Last City. They came to halts, peering up at the blue dazzling skyscrapers and small apartment complexes that were white light with black tinted glass windows except for a few squares where they were normal. Ky eyes a few projections that displayed messages, one such said how WCKD wanted you. Another just simply the countdown to when curfew begins and the other was displaying images of a person, or something, with the tagline of  _ Reward _ . 

“This is a long way from the Glade.” Newt speaks up and Ky looked to him for a moment but turned away as she seen a bullet train gliding across the nearby bridge train tracks that ran through the city. 

_ “Thirteen minutes until curfew. Please proceed home in an orderly fashion. Remember, this is for your safety.” _ A woman speaks through the loudspeaker which rang out through the place, letting them know that the announcing system was everywhere for emergency calls and daily interactions to give the people information.  _ “Thank you for your compliance.”  _

Gally eyes the foursome, nodding once the announcement was over with. “We better get off these streets. And I know it’s hard, but act like you’ve seen it before.” 

“I wish I never had.” James retorts under his breath but loud enough for them to hear. 

It took them about six minutes to get where they needed to be and it was a daring adventure since more and more people were leaving the streets as the huge clock continued to remind them of how much little time they had left to get home. 

Down in the streets, they all ran as WCKD cars drove around, patrolling the area. They hurried, running across a crosswalk and pressed themselves up against a food shop to hide. Another patrol car went by, its sirens wailing and Gally huffed. “They’ve definitely upped security.” He then leaned out, over James and Ky, focusing on Newt and Thomas. “I’m guessing you shanks have something to do with that.” 

“Them too.” Thomas says, motioning to James and Ky. “Or more least Ky.” 

Gally nods, focusing on the girl for a second and peers around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. “Alright, let’s get outta here.” Off again they went, running through the crosswalks with Gally leading to where they needed to go. 

They make it to a bridge platform, Gally stopping at the wall and bending down, readying his hands as the others drew closer. He quickly checks around, making sure that no patrol would be coming up on them any time soon. James rushed forwards, doing the same as him so he could help out. 

He then nods to Ky. “You’re up!” 

She nods, going over and placed her foot into his hand then into Gally’s. They both pressed upwards and she grabbed onto the railing, hoisting herself over. Newt then goes up, Thomas, James, and lastly Gally. They all began strolling up on the bridge, walking up an incline and Thomas began getting antsy, worried that someone would see them even though by now the curfew was in session. 

“Don’t worry, you’re safe. No one comes up here anymore.” Gally remarks. 

“Why’s that?” Ky asks. 

Gally glances back at her. “You’ll see.” 

On and on they walked, Ky seeing the wall coming up into view and she figured that was why no one drove up on that bridge—because it ended with a dead end. But the closer they got, the more she realized that she was wrong. The bridge was cut off, becoming a death drop for anyone that was more focused on the horizon rather than the ground. 

Thomas and Newt stared up at the wall, feeling small and curiously eyed one another in confusion of what was the purpose of them being up there if the bridge ended abruptly. Ky, on the other hand, she wandered to the edge, staring down to see how far the drop was and instantly felt queasy. She stumbled away from the brink, her stomach in knots and James hurried up by her, helping her move away just in case she slipped and fell. 

“Okay. Make room boys.” Gally’s voice booms behind Thomas and Newt, them moving just in time to see him charging forwards to the edge and jumped off at the last second. He went airborne, landing on the small ledge of the wall and stabilizes himself. He then turns, looking at the group who all were shocked by what he just did. “You’re up!” 

“No, no.” Ky instantly shakes her head, panicking. “No, I can’t. Gally, I can’t!” 

“Hey, hey.” James begins, trying to calm her down but Ky just kept on rambling, saying how she couldn’t because she was afraid of heights and that being that high up was something was paralyzing for her. 

Thomas overheard, and it wasn’t hard to, she was on the verge of crying because she didn’t want to make the jump. It brought him back to when they were in the Scorch, in the leaning building when her and Brenda fell through the door, landing on the glass windows. She had stayed in place, daring not to move while Brenda did, having the window webcrack which put Ky into a ball of nervousness. He frowns, going on over to places a hand on James’s shoulder, letting him know that he could handle the situation since James was having a rough time. 

“Ky,” he starts softly, “I know you’re scared. I am too. So we’re going to do this together, alright? You don’t have to be alone. If you go down, I’ll go down.” 

She gulps, nodding understandingly and intertwined her fingers with his for comfort but most importantly, for reassurance. “Okay . .” 

Thomas backs them up, giving them some space for running and squeezed her hand. “On three. One. Two . . . Three.” 

They both ran, going as fast as they could and jumped at the end. Ky screamed at first, flailing her one arm as the other still held onto Thomas’s hand. Gally reached out his one hand for Ky, letting her know that he was there to help her as well. They began falling down, Thomas reaching the ledge and landed with Ky and Gally held onto her one arm. She closed her eyes tight as they made it, breathing hard and peeked an eye open. Gally smiled at her, telling her good job and moved her off to the side while James and Newt made the jump themselves. 

The group journeyed onwards, galloping on the ledge, finding a flight of stairs and heading up after Gally, reaching a scenic outlook post. Ky felt her breath leave her lungs, seeing the huge WCKD building front and right in center of her body. She marveled at the long building, just taking in the luxury of it all just as much as the horror. The outside was deceitful. They tell everyone that they want them safe and yet, on the inside, they were putting Immunes into simulations to produce serums. 

“That’s it. That’s where they’re keeping Minho and your other friends.” Gally crouches down, taking out a telescope that was hidden under a wooden panel and readied it to prop up on a metal bar that was tied around the banister. “Lawrence has been trying to find a way in for years. Place is crawling with soldiers.” He then lowers his head down, peeking through the scope and fixed the focus settings and moving it around to find what he needed. 

James leans his elbows up on the hand railing, eyeing the building that had been his home for so many years growing up, tisking. “Surveillance everywhere and scanners at every way in.” 

Newt looks to him. “Sounds like a bloody fortress.” 

“So what’s the way in?” Thomas barks at Gally. “I thought you said that you had one.” 

“I do . . . I might.” He corrects himself. 

“What do you mean you might? Gally, you said that you could get us in there. Kay, we’re following your lead here. We trusted you, we didn’t have to do that.” 

“Okay, yeah. Let’s get a few things straight first. Otherwise, there’s no point in going any further.” Gally looks to Thomas, his voice growing soft. “Look, I know what I did, okay? I may not remember, but I know. I see Chuck’s face . . every time I close my eyes. We don’t have to be friends, and I’m not asking for anyone’s forgiveness, I’m asking that we put it behind us because we want the same thing. And after this, we go our separate ways. But until then, none of this works unless we trust each other.” 

Thomas drifted his look to Newt then to Ky before nodding and agreeing with his statement because the Islers were right before. Even though Thomas had his own issue with Gally, he wasn’t the only one that was suffering from that day. Gally was too. 

“Okay . . . What’s your plan?” 

“Take a look.” Gally clears his throat as Thomas moves over, peering down into the scope for a good minute before lifting his head. His facial expression flabbergasted. “I said I had a way in,” he turns and stares at Gally, “but I didn’t say you’re gonna like it.” 

“What is it?” Ky questions, moving herself up in front of Thomas and glanced as well, seeing a girl working in a lab and writing things down on a clipboard. She turns around and once Ky sees her face, she fully understood Thomas’s reaction. 

It was her own sister. Teresa.

 


	19. PART 3, CHAPTER 5: A Sadderdaze

Hayley screams in agony as she’s brought out of her simulation, being taken to a control room for her to calm down. It was small, grey, and reminded her of an old basement. The walls were white brick, coated in gel for cushioning whereas the floor was just cement. Lastly, the door wasn’t even a proper door but one that you’d normally see on a submarine. The room had a bunk bed, a sink, a bathroom, and pipes that ran along the ceiling. It wasn’t homey, how could it be? It just reminded Hayley of being a prisoner.

Blaire followed the guards, making sure that they weren’t harming her—making sure that Hayley was in good hands despite being a subject that was being experimented on. She watched as the guards settled her down on the bottom bunk, giving her a tray of food and a bottle of water before leaving. She still stood at the door, arms crossed in front of her chest.

“You feeling any better?”

[ Hayley ](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d09a929d32b10dade72aa5ba6f96a13e/tumblr_n8iisruL2D1skcepqo4_250.gif) slowly stared up at her, eyes glassy as she wrapped a blanket around her. “Are you kidding me? I’m stuck here! I’ve been tampered with, had my brain be tested on, and you dare to ask me if I’m feeling better?”

Blaire loosens, her body language becoming less about power and more friendly. “You were never meant to be here, Hay . . . I told them not to bring you into all of this.”

“But you asked for them to get Anne and Lina?” She shoots back. “Why? What makes them any different from me?”

She gulps. “Because Hay . . . I-I love you.”

Hayley brokenly smiles, stifling a laugh and shaking her head as tears spilled over, running down her cheeks. “This is not love. You never loved me. You lied to me and my friends, you kept me here and you’re having them lock me up like animal in a cage. That’s not love, Blaire, that’s possession.”

And in the moment, for the first time, Blaire actually felt her heart break into tiny pieces. She knew that a cure was needed for the world, she knew that she’d do everything in her power to obtain the status of WCKD being good—even great—but she never concerned herself with the beings of the Immunes. Not until now; not until the one person she actually did love and care for more than herself, showed her just how much pain they were in.

“Get out.” Hayley brought her legs up to her chest, hugging them tight and rocked herself back and forth like a small child who was afraid. “Go.”

“Hayl—”

“Le-ave!” Her voice croaks, cracking midway as she placed her head down on her knees to not having to stare at Blaire. “Just leave me alone. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

Blaire, granting her wish, she headed out and shut the door behind her and locked it. Without another word, she headed back to the simulation station but not before glancing in through the one way mirror to see how Hayley laid herself down on the bed.

In the station, she struts up to the glass, looking in to see how a boy was already hooked up to the machines and brain scanners. Hans was next to the lad, placing a needle into his arm for him to go under and Blaire huffed, trying to clear her head from what Hayley had said. She wanted to immerse herself in this testing, wanting to keep stable and grounded; wanting to keep true to her work and her family that was WCKD.

Janson heads in, standing next to her and grins as he watched the process begin. “A new day, another test.”

“Precisely.” Blaire clears her throat, trying to contain her supremacy so her father wouldn’t comment on how she seemed to be to be unfit for her job by showing any remorse or even seeming to be off.  

“Teresa has found a cure in Subject A-seven.” Janson states to his daughter and Blaire looks at him, stunned. “Last night. Tested it on Subject C-three.”

“So that’s it, we have our cure.”

“Not exactly.”

Blaire then got confused. “What do you mean? Isn’t that what our whole operation is for? Finding a cure?”

“Yes but—”

“But nothing, Dad.” She defended, “That was the goal. We achieved it so there’s no use to let him go through th—” Janson stops her hand as it tries to reach over, about to press on the speaker’s button to tell Hans to stop the process. She eyes him intensely and he takes her arm back, placing it right at her side.

“He wanted to do this.” Janson lies but he says it so convincingly that she believes him.

Her eyebrows furrowed, eyes slowly gleaming past her reflection to inspect Owe. His eyelids were shut but you could see the eye movement going back and forth like he was searching for something in a certain amount of time.

“What’s his landscape to active the Killzone?” She speaks confidently.

Janson purses his lips, his head traveling from side to side. “None.” He pauses. “He’s getting special treatment, for being a hard worker. It’s the _least_ , he deserves.” Right away, Blaire understood. This whole thing wasn’t about fear, it was about remembering.

 

Owe wandered over a his old WCKD desk, running his fingers across the old roughed up wheelie chair before heading down the one hall on the way to the cafeteria. In the huge room, looking off to the left, he seen a little girl around the age of twelve sitting down as she was reading a book and sipping on a carton of apple juice. He could tell that’s what it was because even though the carton was white with no logo other than the WCKD symbol, the plastic straw displayed the contents. The only time she ever drank it was whenever her stomach was upset, on any other day, she’d be slurping down chocolate milk.

Her hair was cut short, coming just an inch above her shoulders, and she wore light blue barrettes that matched the strip on her white sleeved shirt to pin back her bangs so they wouldn’t fall in front of her face to distract her from her book that was _The Song of Achilles_. She had been reading it for a week now, saying that she was enjoying the material and it proved, so far, to being her favorite book—how did he know these things? Where were these thoughts coming from? Owe knew they were his but they felt so peculiar that it was they didn’t belong to him. None of it made sense until it did.

From behind him, a little boy hurried up over, sitting down in front of her on the other side of the table. Her eyes flicker up, seeing how he sat there and she was instantly laughing. He stared at the two children, wondering who they were and why they were in his memories. The scene focused on them and them alone, everyone else blurs by in dull colors whereas the boy and girl were in vivid hues.

Owe steps up close to them, hearing the little girl speak in a delicate voice. “And how was your day so far?”

The boy grins wide, grabbing his apple and eyed the WCKD sticker that was on it. “Better, now that I get to see my bestest friend.”

The girl’s cheeks turn red as she leaned forwards, peeling the sticker off of his apple and flipped to the last page in her book. She stuck the sticker in the top corner, rubbing her finger over it to make sure it’ll stick and hummed in doing so.

“Alright, give me the damage. How many apples have I ate since you met me?”

She counts on the back cover then flips to the front, getting her total. “Two hundred and twenty-four. But plus the one from today, two hundred and twenty-five.”

“Get outta here!” He teases, chuckling.

“It’s true! You’ve ate two hundred and twenty-five. You see,” she then turns her book, showing him, “I have a hundred and twelve on the front pages and another hundred and thirteen on the back ones.”

Owe watched as the boy was shocked. “Wow . . . You’re right.”

She softly scoffs. “Of course I’m right.” The girl then shrugs, flipping her book back around to continue on with her reading.

That’s when it clicked for Owe, who these kids were and why he was seeing them in his simulation; he had spotted the abnormal helix of the boy’s left ear. It was a younger him. And the girl, well, there was only ever one that Owe connected with. Ky.

His younger self just watched her as she read, thinking she was the most exquisite thing of beauty. His mother used to tell him, “Falling in love with someone was like dreaming. You hardly remember how it starts but as things develop and you become aware, you understand that it was all leading up to the moment where you awake—to the moment where you realize it all meant something important to you”. And in this moment, from Owe spectating, his younger self was certainly slipping into his dream.

“Wanna know a mathematical fact?” Young Ky perks up her head. “In a month there’s twenty-eight days ever since the calendar was changed from the solar flares messing up the seasons and regions. And you always eat two apples every day for breakfast and lunch, in a month, that’s fifty-six apples right there. I’ve known you for four months which is seventeen weeks and there’s seven days in a week, which means that on average, you consume fourteen apples per week.”

Twelve year old Owe’s mouth was agape, his eyes double blinking as he just eyed her for the longest time. “You’d just think of all of that, now?”

“My sister, Deedee, believes I’m a genius.”

“I’ll say.”

She smiles wide, so full of life and energy that it makes Owe to try and think of the last time that he’s ever seen Ky that happy. It was impossible. Owe couldn’t recall one time—sure Ky had smiled once or twice, but as for being joyful and not having to worry, there was never a moment like this one.

The memory fades out, leaving Owe alone in an empty room.

From out in the hall, he hears voices that echoed out, sounding like they were coming from somewhere miles away. He strolls on out, leaving the cafeteria, heading down the hallways and began searching for the source. He began passing by a door before he stopping, entering on in to give it a quick look at. It was an old cream colored classroom that only had puzzles laid out on shelves with books and there was a stack of papers sitting in front of a chalkboard that had equations written on it; waiting to be solved. Owe figured that WCKD used to have a schooling program to teach all the kids who lived there before entering them into the mazes for testing.

Giggling erupts again, he peeks his head back out just in time to see a little girl in a white dress hurrying around the corner. He goes after, seeing the little girl running into a bigger room that was filled with windows displaying a series of fake sceneries that included beaches, forests, and sunny hills. The girl goes up to Ky who was now around the age of fourteen, sitting on a windowsill near a table and reading a book. Her hair was longer, just passing her collarbones and she still had her bangs pinned back but this time, with pink hair clips that didn’t match her outfit at all. It was the only article of fashion she wore that was colorful, contrasting against the white turtleneck and cotton pants.

Owe leans up against the door frame, seeing how the recollection began playing out.

The little girl, who had of been eleven, had her dark brown hair up in pigtails and she spilled over a hundred piece puzzle of an underwater landscape on the table. Ky glances up from her reading, seeing the girl began picking out the corner pieces and singing a delightful tune. She joins in, humming along with her happily and even moved her feet to the rhythm. She coughs for a moment, lifting her elbow and places her mouth in the crease to shelter her germs from spreading.

The eleven year old lifts her head to focus on Ky. “You al’ight?”

“Fine.” Ky nods. “Throat’s just a little dry.”

“Today, in class, we learned that the Flare was caused by the solar flares. And that’s why we call the sickness the Flare. Kinda a dumb name if you ask me, something like the Solar would’ve been much cooler.” She fits three pieces together, placing them up in the top left, searching for more.

Observing, Ky leans forwards, scanning the pieces and spotted one that matched what she was looking for. She grabs it, handing it over with a smile before leaning back and continuing on with her reading.

The girl eyes her for a moment. “You read a lot. Why?”

“My mom enjoyed it. She used to read everyday in her study as she sipped on her vanilla creamer coffee.”

“Why?”

“Because it kept her calm.”

“Why?”

“Because reading soothes the brain.”

“Why?” The little girl kept pressing on, being obnoxious but Ky didn’t seem to mind.

“Because when you’re reading, you’re focusing on the words and as you do, a mental picture pops up in your head. You start seeing the characters and what they’re doing, even hear them as they speak to another person. It’s like a movie but instead of watching, you read. You create your own movie; you can substitute people in for the characters. It gives it a sense of creativity because even though someone wrote it, you get to interpret what you want.”

“So like . . . what you picture in your head when reading can be different from what others think when they read?”

Ky nods. “Yeah. You got it.”

“Pitiful. People are missing out on what I picture in my head constantly.”

Ky erupts into laughter, grinning from ear to ear and tearing up. She tenderly wipes her eyes, trying to go back to reading until another person entered the room, coming towards them.

Owe watched as a fourteen year old version of him walks over in a blue turtleneck and cotton pants just like Ky’s. He waves. “How my two favorite girls doing?”

“Jakey!” The little girl shouts, throwing her hands up in excitement.

“Addy!” He swoops her up in his arms, giving her a tender hug as he twirled them around. “How are you, munchkin?”

Owe felt his heart skip a beat, now knowing that the little girl was Sapph. A lump in his throat formed, hardening to the point that it felt like he was trying to swallow a rock. She was so sweet, innocent, and still had her jokes and sarcasm that just absolutely made her wonderful. Owe missed all of it since she had died, but at least with this, he could see her once more.

“I’m working on a puzzle while Carina’s making a mental movie with reading.”

“‘A mental movie’!?” His younger self gasps in a tease, casting a surprised look to Ky. “I’m in shock! How could Carina Murphy possibly be reading and making a mental movie at this certain time and place?!”

“If I hadn’t, would I even be me?” Ky shoots back, smirking.

“Good point.” He placed Sapph back down, her instantly going back to focusing on the puzzle and he stayed, helping out his little sister while Ky just kept her nose in her book.

Once again, the scene fades out and Owe is left alone in a room that was empty. He backs out, going to other rooms to check them out but didn’t find nothing special. He made sure to glance in every single one that he passed, worried that he’d skip out on a certain memory that was important. He ended up finding a few but they were just small things like speaking with Ava Paige, doing meetings with other employees of WCKD that were dressed in blue like him, and working by himself in the computer room where they watched over the many mazes.

It wasn’t until he began scoping around the old dorms that something came to his senses. The atmosphere changed, becoming unbreathable and it was confusing as to why. His steps became soft, light as he traveled through and found his old door that was marked as I63C04. His hand reaches for the knob, turning it and pulled it open.

Inside there was Ky and him, both still at the age of fourteen, sitting on his bed and eating snacks that Ky had stolen for the both of them to eat in secret. The clock on the nightstand read 22:21. They were telling each other stories of their childhoods; Ky listed off how she was triplet and Owe made a remark about how his father was a zoologist so him and his family had free passes to go to the zoo whenever they wanted. Jealous, Ky then stated how her father was a Marine and that it was his job to keep her and the rest of people who lived where they did safe. It wasn’t too exciting since it involved fighting and not animals, but that was the best she could’ve come up with.

“My dad sent me here to be safe.” Little Owe says. “Said that my mom wanted me to be with her but from people going crazy out there, he wanted me to be in here.”

Ky drops her gaze, eyeing her Ding Dong snack cake before weakly chuckling. “That’s what dads are best at . . . Making sure you’re protected.”

“Yeah, he’s the best. Did your dad to the same for you—having you come here?” He asks with enthusiasm but then frowns, seeing how she suddenly got depressed. “Carina? What’s wrong?”

She sniffles. “They killed my dad when they took me away from him . . . I didn’t have the chance to say goodbye.” A tear escaped her eye but she wiped it away, clearing her throat. Owe then took her into a hug, and she hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“It’s okay, Carina.” He uttered helplessly. “It’ll be okay.”

She whimpered, nodding. “Thank you for being my best friend.”

“Of course. I always will be, no matter what.”

In silence they both stayed, hugging each other in comfort because it was desperately needed. Two friends, bonding, showing how much they cared for one another in the most innocent and childlike way imaginable. It seemed like they were untouchable, frozen in time, and it was just so pure.

That’s when it broke down.

Owe heard a swarm of incoming guards approaching, him turning around to see Janson in front and going straight pass him and landing eyes on his past self and Ky. Janson orders the guards to split them up, dragging them down the hall and he sprints after to see what was going on.

They entered a lab and Owe peered over by the wall, seeing a tube machine with straps on the inside of it. The Swipe. He already knew what was happening to his younger self and Ky.

“Your companionship is getting in the way of our studies that we’ve been trying to conduct.” Janson states. “Here and now, I condemn you, Mr. Rogers and Ms. Murphy, to undergo a simple procedure to remove all and any trace of you two ever meeting.”

“You . . You can’t do that to us!”

“I can. And it will happen. Each of you have a job, when that job isn’t taken seriously, there are consequences that must be faced.” Janson then eyed the guards that held Ky in their grasps. “Start with the girl.”

They began moving her towards the Swipe and young Owe began thrashing around, screaming for them to let Ky go. He begged, apologized, and tried to reason with Janson but he wasn’t taking any of it. Janson’s mind was set, and it was set on these two forgetting one another so there’ll be no delay in work.

Ky was in and she sadly looked at Owe, placing her hand on the glass and mouthing words that he couldn’t make out. The machine started up, filling the pod up with water and as it went over her head, her hand slipped away.

Janson leaned himself down to young Owe, whispering loudly to him as he struggled, “This was all your fault, Jake.”

 

The monitors begin skyrocketing, the scans going crazy and Owe’s heartbeat was beating rapidally to the point that Hans expressed his concerns and ordered for them to shut down the simulation. Blaire dialed down for nurses to come to the lab with medical equipment and any other instruments that were needed to help the seventeen year old boy calm down from his Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia.

Hans unhooked Owe from the machine wires and cords except for the one that kept track of his heartbeat, trying to wake the boy up even though he was under heavy sedation. Staff members came in with a gurney, resting him down on it and instantly got to work to bring his boy’s heart down before it made him go into cardiac arrest.

“Owe, can you hear me?” Hans pats his face a bit. “Owe, you need to wake up. You need to try and wake up if you can hear me.”

Owe’s mouth opened, he began yelling out, fighting in his drugged state. He wasn’t making coherent sentences but he was trying to say something, that made the nurses feel extremely bothered. If he was able to try and form words, that means that he should’ve been able to awake himself.

The door swings open and Hans glances up, seeing [Ben Rogers](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0e/a9/1f/0ea91f4d6f7de71b9d88ad926863a17a.gif) standing there and eyeing his son for a good minute before storming up and pressing himself through the crowd. “What the hell happened?”

“Janson ordered for him to be put into a Memory Sweep, and he was all fine, his tests were positive and then, he just began going haywire.”

“Hans, you know that he can’t be in a simulation!” Ben snaps at him, the vein in his neck bulging out from him being clearly upset. “You know about his health condition! It’s brought on him by stress and anxiety!”

“I know, I apologize, Mr. Rogers. But Janson—”

“Don’t give me that shit.” He barks. “He’s my son, not Nick’s!”

“Hans, we need to him to wake up. Now!” The one female nurse commented, trying to press on the pressure points of his neck to try and stimulate his nerves so his heart could try and get enough time to properly fill with blood instead of pumping out nothing to the rest of his body.

Ben looked his son over who began moving his arms and legs, kicking and throwing them around in a major fit while his chest kept pushing upwards towards the ceiling. His piercing eyes land on a few of the nurses, ordering for them to go bring in a metal tub of cold water and to fill it with ice as fast as they could. They nodded, rushing out to do so.

“Come on, Jake. You hang on there. I’m going to help you.”

“I . . Don’t . . . Pleas—” Owe juts out from his clenched teeth, spit flying out as his head jerked from side to side. “. . . I don’t . . want to . . forget.”

Ben shot a glare over at the mirror, knowing that Janson stood directly behind it, watching and charged on over. He brought up his right fist, hitting the glass as hard as he could. “I swear, Nick, if my son dies in here. You’re next.” He curses sternly, seeing how his face was becoming tomato red.

The four men come in with the tub, sitting it over on the side away from the machines and he spun around, seeing it and hurried back to his son. He lifted him off the gurney, telling everyone to move as he hovered his body over the tub and counted down from five. When Ben hit one, he submerged Owe directly under the freezing water and held him there.

“Benjamin, you crazy?” Hans questions, perplexed by his action.

“It’s a Dive Reflex! Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” He glances over his shoulder at the older man before focusing back on his son who was fighting against him under water until he started feeling his movements slow down.

 

Owe, fifteen years of age, he’s laying on a table with hot, white surgical lights placed over his face with blurry faces of doctors in white asks staring down at him. The back of his head throbs as if he were hit by a baseball bat and his eyes were squinted as if he had just awoken from a long slumber. In the corner of his left eye, he sees a girl in the same situation as him; laying on a table, being inspected by people in masks, roasted by bright lights, and covered up in blue blankets.

Being careful, he lifts his left arm up and off the table, trying for the girl that was next to him. His fingers outstretched, doing his best with trying to find her hand to hold and once he does, he makes sure he’s gentle but firm. He kept his knuckles coddled up against her palm, hoping that it’d somehow protect her. Her touch was soft, delicate, and warm; it had reminded him of a freshly washed blanket that came out of the dryer.

Her husked voice calls out in a somber and upon hearing it, there was a flash of a spark in his brain. He _knew_ this girl. He _had_ to. All he needed was to see what she looked like for himself.

Owe slowly lets his head droop over, seeing her short brown hair and hazy hazel eyes. No name was popping up in his head but he certainly did know that this girl had meant a lot to him somehow. He began stroking her pinkie with his thumb, a pathetic attempt at trying to comfort her but with him doing so, it seemed like it made all the difference. Her eyes locked on him and they stayed like that for a while until their connection was broken off from a few of the doctors that noticed. He goes back again, reaching for her again but she doesn’t.

He tries to speak, his voice not producing anything but he finally get its, saying in a calming voice, _“I’m not. Going to. Let you. Go.”_

 

Owe shoots straight up out of the tub, coughing as droplets of water fell from his face and his clothes clung to him like a second skin. Ben still had a hold of him, checking the boy to make sure that he was alright and yelled for Hans to come over to do a thorough examination. He grabs the stethoscope, rushing over, and places the end on Owe’s back, listening to his heart to hear that it returned to its regular beat. Hans nods to Ben and with relief, Ben moves Owe’s soggy bangs off to the side, out of his face.

“Jake? Jake, you hear me?”

Owe eyed his dad, getting his breathing back to normal and eyed everyone in the room before going back to Ben. He gulps. “It was my fault.”

Ben furrowed his brows. “. . Jake?”

“Janson, it was all my fault.”

Ben drew his son in close, not caring if he’d get soaked in the process. He just held him for the longest time, now knowing that Owe just received a majority of his memories back from Janson’s own doing. He then glanced up, seeing how his other son, Nathan, entered the room and sadly watched over Owe who basically became a child in his father’s arms.

 

“No.” Thomas shakes his head, looking to Gally, Brenda, Jorge, Newt, Frypan, and the Islers. When they came back from the Last City, Gally filled the rest in on the plan of getting to Teresa and mostly everyone was on board except for Thomas and Ky. “There’s gotta be another way.”

“Like what?” Gally eyes him. “You’ve seen the building. She is our only way in.”

“You really think she’s gonna help us?”

Gally shrugged. “We have Ky with us . . . Besides, I don’t plan on asking for her permission.”

Brenda then sighs, speaking up. “Am I missing something here? This is the same girl who betrayed us, correct? Same dick?”

Gally smirks, jabbing his thumb over to Brenda. “I like her.”

“Thomas, what’s going on?” She asks.

Thomas went silent, peering over to Ky with a genuine look until Newt spoke up in annoyance. “What, are you afraid your little girlfriend’s gonna get hurt?” Everyone in the room then shifted looks to Newt as he continued on, straightening himself out and got up in Thomas’s face. “Hmm? Because this has obviously never been just about rescuing Minho and their friends.” He motions to the Islers. “Has it?”

Thomas shakes his head. “Wait, what are you talking about?”

“Teresa. She’s the only reason that Minho and the others are even missing in the first place. Now we finally have an opportunity to get them back. And what? You don’t want to because of her?” Newt got closer to Thomas, walking him back to the one wall in the room with aggressiveness. “Because deep down inside you still care about her, don’t you? Just admit it.”

“Newt, it’s also Ky’s sister.” Thomas tried to say but rage took over Newt, causing him grab on his jacket’s collar and pinning him up against the wall.

“Don’t lie to me!” He shouts and everyone in the room jolts from the sudden anger that took him over. “Don't lie to me!”

“Newt!” Ky hurried over, placing her hands on his shoulders to try and bring him back to the present. “Calm down.”

“He doesn’t need to calm down, he has a point.” [Quinn](https://66.media.tumblr.com/0c5d6f4de477ca58606bd8affccb83d1/tumblr_inline_pg929wNf701sjx4ms_250.gif) buts in. “Ky, we can get Anne back. Don’t you want that?”

She glances over at them, stunned that they’d even ask that question. “Of course, I do. What makes you think that I wouldn’t?”

“You’re doing what Thomas is doing! You’re protecting your sister, the one who turned in our location to WCKD! The one that’s responsible for all of this!”

“She had a good reason.” Ky said in the moment, and it wasn’t the smartest thing because right then, Quinn leaped forwards, wrapping her hands around her neck and began squeezing tight.

Ky began gasping for air as Micky, James, Charles, and Dean all hurried over to split the two up. Micky and Dean helped Ky as James and Charles pulled Quinn off, settling them down and they spat at the boys venomously.

“You’re all pathetic!” Quinn yells, clearly upset. “You’re all pathetic slintheads, I can’t believe!”

They travel on outside, heading up the stairs to the roof to calm themselves down and Ky rubbed her throat, thinking it through and went to go after but Micky grabbed for her hand, nervous. Ky nods to let her know that it was alright and followed Quinn on out.

As Ky climbed onto the roof, a gentle breeze blew through her hair and onto the bare skin on her now slightly bruised neck which sent a shiver down her spine. She didn’t know what time of year it was, but it was definitely getting colder. Winter, maybe? No clue. The solar flares messed up the seasons big time. Ky pulled her coat tighter around her thin frame, looking around the rooftop. Then she found them.

Quinn was leaning against the railing of the balcony, hunched forward with their eyes on the huge landscape of the Last City. The buildings towered over them, casting the outside in their shadows. Ky approached behind them, not bothering to muffle her footsteps, and Quinn didn’t even look at her when they spoke. “Hey, I’m sorry for what I did. I didn’t mean it. Really. Anger just got the best of me.”

“I understand, I do.” Ky replied, walking up next to them and the pair’s arms brushed gently. “It’s cold out here.”

Quinn shook their head. “I don’t want to be in there after what I did. I just broke a rule of the Isle. I don’t Dean, James, Charles, or Micky eyeing me like I’m murderer. Besides, I . . . don’t feel great.”

“I know the feeling,” Ky said, and Quinn finally looked at her. She seen muffled rage visible in Quinn’s eyes and she wasn’t going to lie, it slightly terrifying. Briefly, Ky wondered if that was what she looked like to other people. “How long?”

“How long what?”

“You know.” She says and Quinn just still holds her stare, unsure of what she was meaning.

Making a split second decision, Ky rolled up her sleeve to show Quinn the sickly, blackening veins on her arm. She hated looking at them, and she didn’t want anyone else to see them. At least, that’s what it felt like at first.

Now, she didn’t care because everything changed.

Quinn looked at her arm with a furrowed brow. “You’re infected.”

Ky shrugged, pulling her sleeve back down. “Had it for three days now. I didn’t get bit or scratched . . . So I’m guessing the Flare gone airborne.”

From the corner of her eye, Ky seen Quinn rolling up their sleeve and peered over see the black veins standing out against their pale arm. It looked exactly like hers. Quinn pulled their sleeve back down. “There’s no happy ending for either of us, I guess.”

“There could be,” Ky said without thinking, and didn’t realize how stupid it sounded until she said it out loud. “You never know. WCKD could still find a cure.”

Quinn looked taken aback. “Do you really believe that? Ky, when has this world ever done anything good for us? It stripped us of our memories, locked us in that . . . place! Then when we thought we were safe we fell right back into the fire, and found out that three of our friends were betrayers.” Their voice raised with every word, and Ky realized that she had struck a nerve. The thing about the Flare was that hitting a nerve was unpredictable and unavoidable. “And need I remind you, WCKD has Chloe, Hayley, and Anne. They could be dead for all we know.”

“Don’t.” She immediately responded. “Don’t say that.” Ky was fighting more than anything to keep her voice steady, but she didn’t want to fight. She also didn’t want to doubt for a minute that her friends were alive somehow, trying to survive. “I don’t want to hear you talk like that.”

Quinn’s eyes cleared, and they leaned back on the railing. “You’re right. Sorry.” Ky put a hand tentatively on their upper back, half expecting them to flinch away, but they didn’t. “I just . . . can’t help it. These thoughts are driving me crazy and they won’t go away.”

“You wanna know something that I never told anyone?” Ky asked, and Quinn peered up at her through their bangs. “Do you remember when Anne first got to the Isle?”

Quinn furrowed their brows, turning to face Ky while still leaning on the railing. “Of course, she nearly drowned.”

“Yeah, and I saved her,” Ky said with a nod, avoiding Quinn’s gaze. “The thing is… I almost let her die.” Quinn’s eyes widened, and Ky looked down at her hands, fumbling with them. “I just thought . . . the world we live in is horrible. The Isle was horrible. This is horrible. I didn’t want someone else to go through that. Like . . . death was almost better than being stuck there. I wanted to let her die, but I . . . I couldn’t.”

The two stayed silent for a few beats, until Quinn spoke up again. “What changed your mind?”

Ky leaned on the railing and looking towards the city. “She was struggling to survive, just like us. She was no different from what we were doing day by day.” She then paused. “That day, I finally saw hope and it was much stronger than the fear that I had. I wanted to help, that’s all I ever wanted. So, I thought maybe I could make it better, for her.”

Quinn bumped her shoulder gently, following her gaze off to the city. “This is going to sound incredibly selfish, but . . . I’m glad you saved her. She made the Isle a little less horrible for me.”

Ky looked over at Quinn, giving them a huge smile. “Yeah, me too. And now, it’s time to save her again.”

Quinn nodded, letting their head hang. Through their fringe, Ky could barely see the smile on their face. “Yeah. Maybe she’ll make our imminent deaths a little less horrible.”

“If I’m dying for Anne, there’s no other way I’d wanna go out.”

They sat in silence for several minutes after, letting the winter breeze chill their bones and enjoying the last peaceful moment before the storm.


	20. PART 3, CHAPTER 6: Like You're Never Coming Back

Teresa fixes her hair, making sure her bun was firm and in place. She was nervous, drumming the pads of her fingers on the table and watched as a boy who was a few years older than her came walking in as he opened the door with his keycard. Teresa’s back straightens out, her clearing her throat silently and eyed the boy’s light green eyes that reminded her of Ky’s.

“I’m sure you already know why I asked for you to meet with—”

“Yeah, well, you’re usually full of surprises so I’m just going to listen to what you have to say. Please, go on, Ms. Agnes.” 

Teresa eyes him, frowning and staring her attention down to the table that reflected her silhouette in a foggy apparition. “We finally have a cure.” She starts, lifting her head slowly. “Everything I did, it was all for this.”

“Like making our little sister forget who we are and placed her into a goddamn maze without even telling me?” He scowls at her, bickering. Just like siblings, as a few spectators would normally say whenever they were together in the same proximity. “Lucas and Liam were wondering where the hell she went and so did I, and you just lied to us for a week until we finally found out the truth.”

“You knew that the Flare was going to mutate and be able to spread. Putting Ky in the Maze was the only reasonable thing to do to ensure her safety.”

“Safety?” Ricky scoffs. “You mean you put her in a place that was sectioned off, with no memories, and dangerous creatures that roamed around in the waters. Yeah, sure. I’d give that a Five Star safety rating.” 

“Ricky, my recent studies of the virus and with reports from the other bases, it’s become apparent that the Flare gone airborne. And it’s making its way here.” That’s what makes him grow quiet, staring at his young sister and slowly taking the seat that was in front of him; not breaking eye contact from Teresa. “If Ky’s still out there, she’d be three weeks infected by now. Her skin would be already decaying, her nervous system acting up, and the—”

“Enough.” Ricky places his hand out in front of him to signal for her to be quiet. He couldn’t bear to hear all the horrible details. 

Teresa frowns, debating on saying what she was about to but it slipped her lips effortlessly. “Mom would’ve been proud that I found a cure.” 

“Deedee,” he warns, she knew that their mother was a tough subject for him. When she died and their dad had to go back to work, Ricky was the man of the house and he forced himself to do everything correctly like how their mom used too but it was never good enough. 

“On her deathbed, when she was herself for the last time, she told Dad that she didn’t want any of us to go through what she had. She begged him to keep us safe. I did what she asked, Ricky.” 

“No, you didn’t!” He finally snaps at her. “You left us to go to WCKD, putting Dad through hell because he knew that WCKD were the ones that chose to release the Flare and got the military to help in doing so. Then, you told them about us and they came, grabbing Lucas and Liam. I followed after to make sure that our little brothers would be safe while Dad took Ky to a safe location. But of course, that didn’t last long either. We were all safe with Dad until you decided WCKD was more important than our family.” 

“We wouldn’t have lasted out there on our own with limited food, water, the weather changing constantly, and the Cranks. Ky would’ve died, Ricky. She’s not Immune like us.” Teresa tried to reason. “Coming here, searching for a cure while putting Ky in a controlled Maze where the Flare couldn’t touch her, that was the best choice for our family.”

“It was the worst.” Ricky glares at her, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Lucas and Liam begged to go into the maze to be with their sister . . . And Janson did put them in but not in Ky’s, he put them into Group E.” His eyes began burning, getting glossly with warm tears that stemmed from anger. “Lucas had to watch Liam die right in front of him . . . We lost our brother, Deedee and you just kept on working, trying to reassure yourself that working for WCKD was worth whatever end result you were waiting on. It’s not.” 

Ricky scoots himself out from the chair, the legs squeaking against the tile as he stood and headed straight for the door. It slides open and he heads on out, fixing his dark grey jacket and the long sleeved shirt that he wore under it. He began heading down the flight of stairs, traveling to the Level 6 dormitory that held all the Immunes including the Islers. 

Once he made it, he headed up to the room that held Anne, peeking in through the door’s window to see her resting against the one wall as she sat on her bunk. He does a signal knock, letting her know that it was him before opening up her door. She gives him a look, understanding that he was putting their plan into play like how they talked about last night. Anne stands and he grabs chains to maintain the illusion that she’d be in transport, cuffing her wrists and holding onto the chain as they headed for the elevators. 

In the shaft, Ricky peers down to her and drawing in a deep breath. “You alright, Emma?” 

Anne nods, thinking. “So, Teresa finally found a cure?” 

“I hope.” 

“You hope?” She questions. “You’re not sure that she did?” 

He returns her stare. “Not to be person of personal beliefs, but if anyone was most likely to be a candidate for carrying the enzyme that’s needed for the cure, it certainly wouldn’t be Minho. Not even you.” 

“Who’d you think it’d be?” She pauses. “Or do you actually know who?” Anne fully turns her body, staring at his side profile as he went back to focusing on the doors in front of them. 

“I don’t know who it is, I promise. But if I had to say, I’d believe it to be Thomas. Or James.” 

“James.” Anne says his name, the word leaving a sour taste on her tongue. It wasn’t bitter from the betrayal but rather from the fact that she never seen his situation from his point of view. When Anne finally did, that’s when she understood everything that he had done.

Ricky began visiting Anne a month ago every day, talking to her, introducing himself and telling her everything about everything. Anne had opened up to him too, telling him about her moms that she just found before she was taken away from them. She also made mentions at Blaire, weeped over the fact that she may never see Quinn again, and wished for Chloe’s safety upon learning that she wasn’t Immune. Anne then spoke about Owe and from there, Ricky took over, telling her that there was currently so much going on with him that she needed to know. 

He filled her in about how Janson threatened to harm the other Islers and execute them if he didn’t leave his friends to join them back in the Scorch. She wondered how he knew and he told her that Janson was always like that to Owe; used to mentally and emotionally manipulate the boy into doing something against his will out of fear that it’ll cause someone else harm. 

Anne had no idea. She never hated Owe for what he did, she just couldn’t understand it. There was a few times where Owe tried to speak with her but she never responded, acting like she fell asleep or never heard him. If only she heard him out, she could’ve had him as a friend again; to rebuild their friendship. 

“Or, better yet, thinking about it,” Ricky tisked, making Anne’s train of thought turn on over. “I think Owe could be a shoe in.”  

“And why him?” 

“Janson mentally tortured him ever since he arrived to WCKD, because he was Mary’s son.” Ricky gives her an expression that read sorrow for Owe and anger towards Janson. “He tormented him with either his little sister, Adelaide, or with mine.” 

“You never told me that you had a little sister.” Anne remarks. “Who is she?” 

“Ky.” 

The doors open and they step on out, Ricky escorting Anne straight to the room where Teresa had Chloe being kept. 

Once Anne’s eyes had laid upon Chloe, she took off, running up to see her friend happily watching some movie on a monitor within the glass room. Ricky closed the door behind them, undoing Anne’s wrists and she immediately tried to open the door but he stops her, telling her that the alarm would sound since Chloe’s still considered dangerous for being an non-Immune. She nods, going back to face the girl and began speaking with her, asking if she was feeling alright and if she felt any different. 

 

“Here.” Ben hands Owe a dark grey linen henley that was long sleeved, turning about so his son could dress in peace. Owe does, fixing himself into warmer clothes and takes a seat down on his bed. His eyes fixed on the locket that still hung around his neck, dangling back and forth like a clock with a pendulum. Ben notices how he gone silent, looking over to see him just sitting there motionless. “Jake?” 

“Adelaide, she found me before I went into the Isle.” His voice was hoarse, broken as if he been screaming nonstop for hours. He might as well has been. “I told her that I was going away for a little while and that she’ll be alone for a short time but that there was no need to worry, because I was her big brother.” His fingers then clasp the locket, facing up at his dad and flashed it to him with a sad smile. “This used to be mine, Mom gave it to me for my twelfth birthday before I was placed in WCKD. I couldn’t have it on me when I was about to be placed in so I gave it to her, for her to remember me and our family. I even left out my favorite blue hoodie that she used to steal and tie around her neck, wearing it as a cape like she were a superhero.” 

Ben mustered up a laugh, he remembered Adelaide doing that. She was in a family of boys other than Mary and she adapted to the boys so much that she took on the interests of the comics and video games the boys kept. She used to play Hero with them, mostly claiming the role of being the savior while Grayson and Alex were the hostages, and Nathan and Owe took on the roles of the villains. Adelaide  _ always _ had to be the hero. 

“She was wearing both when she came up in the Cube . . . She knew who I was but I didn’t know her. Dad . . . Does that make me a bad brother?” Owe began tearing up again, his face white and flushed which contrasted against the puffy redness that began blossoming around his eyes. 

“No. No, of course not.” Ben takes him into a hug, cradling his son right into his chest once more and kissed the top of his head. “Of course not, Jake. You are the best big brother that Adelaide could’ve had. You did everything you could to the best of your ability. That’s what matters.” 

Owe nods, sniffling and took even breaths to try and not go into another fit. His heart went to a steady pace, going back to the normal rhythm. He closes his restless eyes, trying to find comfort in his father’s arms but it didn’t come as Ben’s radio dialed up. Someone on the end of the line was dispatching that there is a problem down on the Level 9 floor, in one of the control rooms. 

Ben backed away from his son, picking up his radio and asked for them to repeat the call just to make sure that he heard it correctly. The message is delivered again and Ben frowns, looking at his son and told him to wait there and left in a hurry. Owe didn’t listen, he followed, wondering why his father had looked so horrified by the news. 

Ben, a few guards, and even Blaire, were all running towards the stairs, heading down three flights before exiting the Level 9 door and heading straight to the room that had an issue. Owe tagged in the back, staying a few feet a ways and seen how the floor up ahead was glistening from a huge puddle of water that had formed from a small door leak. Owe paused, staring at it while the guards and Ben began trying to unlock the door. 

Blaire ran up to the one window, looking in to see that the water level was up and over Hayley’s head, her body floating lifelessly, anchored to the post of the bunk bed since the guards chained her ankle. She banged on it, calling out desperately to see if Hayley was still conscious to the point that Blaire was screaming for the guards to hurry. Owe watched as the door finally opened slowly, the water pouring out like an open tab and Hayley’s body lowered back down. 

Blaire was the first one in, pushing past the men and Owe stumbled up, leaning against the door frame and just watched as  [ Hayley ](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gQUaklp0Pfc/UeY7f74333I/AAAAAAAAPZU/38VWdvXYjp8/s1600/1.04+Angie.jpg) floated on her back in the shallow water. Blaire dives down onto her knees, scooping her head up into her lap and began checking for a pulse.  _ Nothing _ . There was nothing left in her. No air, no life. Hayley was now just a complete shell of emptiness. 

“Hayley, please. I’m so sorry. Hayley, I’m sorry.” Blaire began weeping, showing how she could be vulnerable to everyone who was watching. “Hayley, please please. Come back, I’m sorry. I didn’t think . . . I didn’t know, I’m sorry.” 

The heartbeat of Owe began galloping, pumping fast but it then settles once the grief settled in. He excuses himself, walking away from the door and back down the hall where he began crying again. He was friends with Hayley, not exactly close but when Anne cut ties off with him, he found solitude in Hayley. She always listened to what he had to say, even gave him advice, and was a genuine friend. All those conversations and secrets that were shared between them now only belonged to Owe. 

He went for the staircase, heading back up to Level 12 where his desk was and sat down. He began searching the WCKD Files in the computer’s archive, using his father’s ID Code to be granted access to the Authorized Files. From there, he searched up Ky’s subject number, finding her file and hovered his finger over the pad to select it. He hesitated for a long moment but he needed to know. His finger comes down, pressing it and the file opens to reveal all information that he’d possibly need. Age, full name, birthday, how old she was when she first arrived in WCKD, all listed procedures that were taken place on her, and the most important information of all. 

 

**Subject C1 is not Immune.**

 

Owe leans himself back from reading, covering his mouth with his right hand, the tears spilling over as he bent back over his desk, propping his elbow up on it. The world felt like it had exploded right out from under him, leaving him in a black space with nothing but his thoughts and his emotions that began tearing him up inside like horned devils. Owe could never win against it, he already knew that but still tried. Nothing was fair, and his life would never be okay again. Unbeknownst to him, this all just had been scratching the surface. There was much worse games at play. 

 

Ricky checked his watch, seeing that the time was now stretching to seven o’clock. He notifies Anne, letting her know that they need to leave in thirty and to try and wrap up the conversation. Chloe jokes by saying that Ricky shouldn't rush two girls on a date and it made Anne laugh properly, holding onto her stomach and Chloe did the same. Chuckling filled the air and even Ricky had to break into a sly grin, nodding and saying “yeah, yeah” as he waved them off in a playful manner. Chloe’s laughter died down as she began breathing hard, coughing and black goo came spewing out from her lips. Anne’s face went from joy to utter puzzlement, pressing her face against the glass to see what was going on with her. 

Chloe’s veins turned black and blue, thickening and moving with the rhythm of her heartbeat. Her brown irises shifted to a shade of black, becoming bloodshot in the whites of her eyes. She let out inhumane screams and hollers, clawing at the walls and thrashing her body around like a wild animal. The alarms went off, warning the crew that was on duty that she had turned and went rabid like a dog.

“Chloe!” Anne cried, seeing how her friend went ballistic. “Chloe, stop!” 

Ricky grabbed her, moving her back as a few nurses and Hans came charging in, entering the chamber that Chloe was set in and bringing her on out to the operation chair where she was the night before. It took four nurses to hold down her limbs while Hans quickly hurried with trying to find a sedative to stabilize Chloe as the emergency sirens softly buzzed in a gentle yet loud tone. 

Anne kept on wailing, Ricky turning her into him so she didn’t have to witness it. He glanced out, seeing how Ava Paige was standing at the glass window, her expression filled with sorrow. Then right besides her, Teresa walks up, her hair loose from her bun that she was wearing earlier in the day. She was devastated, her eyes locked on Chloe as she tried to bite the arms of the nurses, trying to kick their hands off her ankles and letting out more shrills that chilled her to the bone. Ricky seen how all the hope that she had before was completely washed away. She then catches the sight of him in the back with Anne, her bottom lip quivering, eyes big, and she turned away, storming off down the wall in defeat. 

Normally, Ricky liked being right but this was different. Him being right in this case meant that there was no safety for his baby sister—no salvation. Ky was doomed to become infected, her mind fighting against her body and ultimately, losing herself to the virus until she’s just a someone who used to be a daughter, a sister, and a friend. 

Carefully, Ricky escorted Anne away, not wanting to be cornered by guards or Janson. He hushed her, apologizing that she had to see what happened, taking her back to her Level 6 dormitory. Anne asked what would happen to Chloe and not wanting to lie, he told her the truth. The only thing left to do what either lock her up with the other Cranks that they experimented on or if she was more dangerous sort of Crank, they’d put her under. 

 

Teresa gone out for a walk in the crisp night air, walking among the crowd of people that wore face masks in fear of the virus being spread to them by germs. If only they knew that it gone airborne, but even then, would it still help them? Teresa didn’t bother herself with the thought, she just kept on walking to try and clear her mind of her failure that just cost a girl her life. Careless, how could Teresa be so careless? No. She tried. She thought something good could happen since the results were promising and she tried it out in her good intentions. It happened because she did care. She was trying to save a life. That was the moral of it. 

She makes it to a crosswalk but stops in a group as the traffic came passing by, blowing breezes and Teresa folded her arms in front of her chest, staring at the ground in thought.  _ What am I going to do _ , she pondered. Teresa could literally feel the weight of the world on her shoulders, making her hunch and try to decide every single step that she can make. With the wrong foot out in front of the other, she could seriously do damage—more than she already did with Chloe. 

Indistinctive shouting from the left gains her attention, head turning to feast her eyes upon the sight of seeing two Red Shirts spraying a man who was down on his knees, hands behind his back and a biohazard bag over his head with a nozzle in it for him to breathe and to speak properly. Two guards in black stand with their Launchers, holding back the wife or girlfriend of the man. 

Teresa looks away, trying to clear the image from her mind since it pictured Ky being in the man’s position and her begging how she wasn’t sick. She closes her eyes, drawing in a small breath and exhales, eyelids fluttering open and stares across the way at the other crosswalk. There, she sees a girl staring at her with her hood up and hands in her pocket. Teresa double blinks, believing that her eyes were deceiving her but they weren’t. In front of her, on the other side of the street, was her little sister Ky. 

A bus passes by and once it leaves, she watches as the back of Ky begins walking away and the crosswalk light flickers to orange. The people around Teresa began trekking, leaving her alone in pure shock. She finally snaps out of it, scurrying up through the bodies of the people on the sidewalk. Teresa’s eyes were lock on the small hooded frame, her dumping shoulders and moving through the sea of humans, trying to gain speed. The figure darts, vanishing and Teresa moves quicker, making it to where she lost sight and twirls all around to find out where her sister had gone. That’s when the doubt settled in. 

Was it really Ky? Was it just her mind playing tricks? If it was Ky, where had she gone to? 

Teresa turns around in the train station, her eyes snagging sight of the same hooded figure from the street. They were still facing forwards, heading for a secluded transit that was within the building. Teresa steps up once, then again as the announcer on the intercom began mentioning that the city curfew was now in effect and that if anyone was caught, they’d be subject to immediate deportation. 

“Ky?” Teresa calls up, her heels trotting against the hard floors. “Ky?” She calls even louder, the figure still not turning around. “Carina?” With that name, the person, revealing their face to Teresa and she was correct. It was Ky. 

She disappeared around the corner and Teresa ran faster, making it out into the isolated section and seen nothing. Her sister was gone once again like a ghost. Teresa twisted all around, wondering if she was actually going crazy, panting. From behind her, footsteps sounded and she froze, turning around and instead of seeing her sister, it was Thomas. 

Teresa rotates herself back around. “Thomas.” Her voice echos, sounding louder than what it actually was. 

“Hey, Teresa.” 

She shakes her head. “You shouldn’t be here. If Janson finds out you’re here—”

“I’m not staying. Neither is Ky.” Thomas softly replies and at the sound of her name, Teresa’s face fumbles. He draws closer to her. “It’s just, uh, I had to see you. I have to ask you something. Something that Ky wants to know too.” He pauses. “Do you regret it? What you did to us?” 

Teresa swallows the lump in her throat, her eyes swelling with tears as she looks away from him but she goes back to staring up at him, nodding. “Sometimes. But I did what I thought was right.” Off behind the one pillar where Ky stood with Micky and Gally she listened in as the two talked. “I’d do it again.” 

Thomas nods, his nostrils flaring in and out. “Good.” He remarks and Gally storms out from behind, readying the sack in his hands as he covered Teresa’s head. He then picked her up with Thomas’s help, rushing her on over to the van that Lawrence gave him in order to do the plan, placing her into the back. Brenda was up front with Quinn in passengers, them glancing back and once Micky gave the signal, they drove off to their new hideout. 


	21. PART 3, CHAPTER 7: Even When You Should

Ava sits in her chair, sipping scotch out of her glass cup and staring out over the Last City and eyeing the wall that was in the distance as well as the ruin outskirts. Janson enters her room, stepping up the steps to the platform. “Taking the edge off, I see.” He remarks, noticing her choice of alcohol and stands in front of the huge window. He felt superior standing up to it, knowing he was a person of high authority and people looked to them to be their messiahs. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” She asks, taking another sip of her drink. 

“Yes.” Janson nods. “It’s a lovely city.” 

Owe was outside, walking up to Ava’s door to go and confide in her about possibly leaving WCKD to be on his own after all that he’s been through but paused once he seen that the door was left ajar. He tiptoes over, poking his head in to see the back of Janson standing and Ava sitting. 

“The walls.” Ava starts. “It’s amazing what people can accomplish when their survival’s at stake. Squeeze them hard enough, there’s nothing they can’t do. No line they won’t cross.” Her eyes linger up as Janson as he turns to gaze down upon her. 

“You’ve had a bit of a setback. It’s nothing we’re not used to.” 

Ava disagrees. “Not this time. The virus is airborne. It’s inside the walls. That serum was our last chance. Anyone not infected will be inside a month.” 

Owe’s stomach twisted in knots; somewhere, out there, Ky was already infected or would be infected, and she will only have month to live before it gets worse. Or maybe even a week— _ No _ . He couldn’t afford to think like that.  

Janson stares back out to the city, swallowing harshly and nods. “Okay. We can handle this. We just need to evacuate essential personnel, set another safe zone farther north. We’ve still got twenty-eight Immunes right inside this building. We can find more.” 

“You would. You’d hunt every last one of them down till there was no one left.” Ava remarks. “In spite of everything we’ve done to them, everything we’ve put them through. At least we gave them the tools they’ll need to survive. Maybe they’ll succeed where we failed.” 

She gets up with her drink, going to head down the steps but Janson wanders right in front of her. “Are you really telling me you’re giving up? After everything?” 

“It’s not about giving up, Janson. It’s about knowing when you’ve lost.” She goes around him, heading down the steps and going straight for the door with her head held high while Janson scowled. Owe backed away in a hurry, heading back away to go and find Teresa to try and tell her the news. 

 

The sack is taken off of Teresa’s head, her panting and fixing her hair. She glances up as she sat in a chair, seeing Gally. She then shifts her stare forwards, seeing Thomas, Newt, Frypan, Quinn, Micky, Jorge, and Dean standing there. In the back she then seen Ky sitting with Brenda, dealing out cards to James and Charles. Teresa goes back to eyeing Gally, being perplexed at the sight of him. 

“Gally?” 

He sits down on the table, right in between Quinn and Thomas. “Here’s how this is gonna go. We’re gonna ask you some questions, and you’re gonna tell us exactly what we need to know. We’ll start off simple. Where’s Minho, Chloe, Anne, and Hayley?” 

Teresa looks to Thomas. “You guys seriously don’t think—”

Gally gets up, grabbing a chair and slams it down in front of Teresa backwards, sitting down in a straddle with his arms propped up on the back. “Don’t look to him. Why are you looking at him? Look at me. He’s not gonna help you. Not even your sister.” 

Teresa frowned, her gaze going over to Ky to see her looking sad, mouthing the word “please” while Charles held her hand for comfort. She turns away, knowing that she owed her sister help since she failed with the serum, sighing and locking eyes with Gally he started speaking again. 

“Now, we know you have them in the building. Where?” He questions sternly. 

“Hayley, Anne, and Minho would be with the others in holding. Sub-level 3.” 

“And Chloe?” Micky asks. “Where would she be?” 

Teresa sadly looked to her, shaking her head. “Chloe wasn’t Immune . . . I’m sorry, she . . . I’m sorry.” 

Micky sat back, feeling herself being sad but she shuts it out so she could be determined and focused when it came to saving Anne, Hayley, and Minho. Quinn, on the other hand, they were upset. They excused themselves, going to the restroom and Micky watched them go sadly. After their heart-to-heart talk with Ky, Quinn told Micky about them being infected and they ended up talking for the longest time which make them grow even closer than before. Micky promised to look out for Quinn, even told them, but they ended up dismissing the suggestion. She was still concerned for her friend. 

“And the others.” Newt begins, crossing his arms in front of him. “How many?” 

“Twenty-eight.” 

Gally glances over his shoulder at Brenda who laid down a Seven of Hearts, returning his stare. “I can make that work.” 

“No.” Teresa instantly interferes. “No, you guys don’t understand. The whole level’s restricted. You can't get in without a thumbprint ID.” 

“That’s why you’re gonna come with us.” Thomas finally voices, leaning forwards. 

Gally then shrugs. “Well, I dunno. We don’t necessarily need her. Right?” He then stands up, sliding the chair out of his way and heading back to the table. “Not all of her. We just need her finger.” He then picks up a scalpel. 

“Gally, back off.” Thomas stares up at him. 

“What, are you squeamish?” He asks Thomas and Ky stood up, making her way on over to where the boys and Micky stood. “I guarantee you she’s done a lot worse to Minho, Anne, and the others.” 

“That’s not the plan. Back off.” Thomas stands, taking the scalpel away from him. 

Teresa sighs. “It won’t make a difference. Do whatever you want to me. You still won’t get through the front door. The sensors will pick you up—”

“We know. We’re tagged. Property of WCKD.” Thomas kneels down in front of her. “You’re gonna help us with that, too.” He then held up the scalpel to her and she already knew what he meant. 

It was eight-thirty and Gally, Frypan, Newt, Micky, Dean, and Charles had all taken their turn with getting their chips removed at the backs of their necks. James was currently getting his done, just sitting still as she went to work, focusing on the procedure. He had a lot of things running through his head the closer that they got to putting their plan in motion. His eyes dart to find Ky bringing in WCKD guard uniforms for the boys that were going undercover; Frypan, Newt, Gally, and one for Thomas for whenever he got his chip out. 

James then noticed how she had another suit, one that belongs to a Red Shirt, she slings it over her shoulder and he closes his eyes, remembering just how he got there in the first place. 

 

He awakes in his hammock, stretching out and stands up but not before eyeing the time on the wall to see that it was half past four o’clock. James smiles, knowing that today was the day that they’d be going to the safe haven and all would be in good hands. He wanders over to the one hall where Lucas slept but didn’t see him there, confused, James began searching until he found him where Ky sleeps except she was gone. 

Lucas lifts his head, meeting James’s gaze and he stands up from Ky’s bed, mustering up a smile. “You’re late to the party.” 

“Where’d she go?” 

“She left to go get her friends.” 

“And you didn’t stop her, Luke? You just watched her go off by herself?” James instantly questioned, more like interrogated. 

Lucas shakes his head. “No. I talked to her, and I let her go.” 

“Luke,” James eyed him dumbfounded. “She’s not Immune.” 

“I know, James.” 

“So . . Why, why would you let her go?” 

Lucas then softly smiled, shaking his head. “You really don’t get it, do you?” James raised a brow. “When you love someone, and they’re gone, the whole world begins to look different.” A pause. “Without all of her friends, people she knew and lived with for two and a half years, she’s incomplete. The whole universe is to her. And she can’t be who she is without them.” 

“But you’re her family. She should need you.” 

“You grew up WCKD, they took you in, they became your family and you did everything with them and for them. Right?” James nods. “That’s how it is with Ky and the Islers. The moment you began finding yourself connecting to the Islers, was the moment that you believed that you were letting down your family at WCKD. For Ky, the moment that she learned that we could save everyone that was taken was like letting down her family and it hurt her even more because the family became even bigger with Ramona and Linda.” 

James took in a breath, understanding what he meant and ran his fingers back through his hair. “If she’s going, I’m going with her. To the Last City.” 

“Hey, Quinn, Micky, Fry, Newt, and Thomas all went with her. She’ll be alright with them, James.” 

“Yeah, but they’re not me. I can protect her because I know that she’s not Immune and for once, I can finally do something and not just wait around for her to turn like how I did with Sapph.” James turned on his heel, strutting back to his room to pack a small bag. “She’s my friend, and I’m not just going to stand here and do nothing.” 

From behind, the footsteps stopped and James found it odd; Lucas normally followed whenever he was going off on something and to hear him not being not the back of his heels was a very concerning manner. James halts, glancing over his shoulder to see that Lucas was grinning wide. 

“What? What’s that look for?” 

“You finally understand why Ky left.” He says, “She left because she couldn’t stay here and do nothing when they needed her.” 

 

“Done.” Teresa announces which brings James out of his trance, standing up from the chair and grabbed gauze to place at the top of his spine, collecting the blood. “Quinn, you’re up.” She looks over at the Isler. 

Quinn shrugs her off. “I’ll pass. Besides, I highly doubt that WCKD would want to waste their time on a Crank like me.” They look over to the girl in the room that was in the same predicament as them, already knowing that she’d remove hers in order to enter the building like the others. Asides from James.

Ky looked from Quinn to Teresa, exhaling and standing up. “Guess it’s my turn now.” She heads on over, straddling the chair and placed her hair off to the side to expose the back of her neck to her older sister.

“It’ll sting, so just try and relax.” Teresa says, wiping off the scalpel from any remaining blood and began making the small incision which made Ky wince; scrunching up her face. 

Quinn locks eyes on James, seeing him wander off to a darken portion of the abandoned church that they were hiding out in within the Last City and tags along.  “And why are you straying away over here, Jimbo?” 

James glances over his shoulder, meeting their gaze for a short moment before turning back and taking off his army jacket that he still wore from the Scorch. “Want me to humor you or . . .” He trails off, taking off his shirt just then to put on a newer, cleaner one. 

Quinn shrugs. “You can try and humor me, but fair warning, I’m not much of the laughing type anymore.” 

“Yeah,” he places his head through then slips his arms into the sleeves, pulling the hem down to his waist. “If only laughter was as contagious as the Flare.” James shoots Quinn a look and he could see the corners of their lips curving upwards into a small smile as their head shook. 

“Low blow.” They reply softly, trying to pull it off as annoyance but failed since their lips were still in a beam. 

James grins. “I see that I made you smile.” 

“Yeah, you did, you jackwagon.” The chuckles die down and they eye James for what feels like an entirety. “Hey, Jimbo, I’m . . I’m sorry. For being angry at you during the past months. I mean, we were never close but we were friends and finding out about you from Janson, it just messed with my head. I wanted to apologize for that.” 

“I understand, Q. I wanted to tell you guys so bad but I, I was nervous, and I can only imagine what it was like for you guys to hear the truth from someone you hated rather than the person you trusted and known for quite some time.” 

“As long as we’re on the same page.” Quinn states, holding out their hand to James and he takes it into his, shaking it firmly. “Friends again?” 

“Friends.” 

From across the way, Ky watched the two make up, smiling and focus back as Teresa tenderly pulled out the microchip from her skin and sat it in the tray. She then grabs gauze, pressing it kindly on her neck and Ky just waited in the uncomfortable silence. Two sisters, one with the rebels, the other with the chaotic good of humanity. One with all memories and the other with just small fragments; bits and pieces. 

Teresa lifts up, seeing the blood soaking into the cloth and presses back down again before speaking. “How you feeling?” 

“Dull ache but fine.” 

“Anything else?” 

Ky shakes her head. “No. Just . . Neutral, I guess.” 

Teresa tries to speak again, to ask if she had gotten infected to figure out how much time her little sister had left but Thomas headed over, seeing if Ky was alright. He then told Teresa that he was the final one to get his chip removed, having Ky stand on up to go get dressed in the suit and took her spot on the chair. She watched her walk off, grabbing the Red Shirt suit and slipping it on over her clothes like how the boys were doing. Thomas calls her name, bringing her back to her senses and she tells him that exact same thing she told Ky, making a slice and grabbed the tweezers to begin digging for the chip. 

Dean began making rounds, wishing everyone luck since he was going back to the Crank Palace with Quinn to wait for when Brenda, Micky, and James packs up the Immunes and drop them off by while Jorge goes and runs back to the Right Arm hideout to grab the Berg that they stole from the train heist. He gives Charles a hug bye and even gives James one, wishing them a safe return. He then goes to Ky, hugging her tight, and whispered something to her before pulling away to say bye to Newt and Frypan. 

Ky glanced to Charles who standing next to Gally, already staring, smiling at her. She nods to him watching as he turned back, getting Lawrence’s device ready and all their guns loaded for the ultimate showdown that they were about to venture on. Her, Thomas, Newt, Gally, and Charles were all going to head on into WCKD; Gally was to set up the security device so that Lawrence and his crew could hack into WCKD’s programming system, her and Charles were going to grab Anne and Hayley while Newt and Thomas took Teresa to try and find Minho. They all had their jobs to do and they were positive that it was going to work. 

“Better get going old man.” Brenda heads over to Jorge, seeing him checking his pocket watch that displayed nine o’clock. She tosses him the keys to his vehicle and he catches them with ease, placing his watch back into his pocket. “Long road ahead of you.” 

“You sure I can’t talk you out of this?” He questions, the moonlight shining in through the mosaic window lighting up his face. “It’s your last chance.” 

She musters up a sly smirk. “You know, it’s not like you to shy away from a fight.” 

He chuckles. “And it’s not like you to go looking for one. I just can’t help but think if I walk out that door . . . I’m never gonna see you again. Since when do we go sticking our necks out for strangers?” 

Brenda nods, looking into his eyes. “I was once a stranger, too. And Lee.” 

Jorge then huffs, shaking his head. “Lee . . .” He murmurs, peeking over to where Ky stood. “Wonder what he must’ve thought when he woke up to find her not with them, but rather here.” 

“Probably the same thing you’re thinking now.” Brenda smartly replies and she places her hands on his shoulders, motioning for him to take in a deep breath with her. He does, the both of them exhaling at the same time. “Just don’t leave us hanging.” She smiles. 

“No.” He shakes his head. “Never.” Brenda then hugs him tightly before splitting up. “Dean, Quinn, time to go.” 

The two Islers nod, following after but Quinn stops for a moment. “Wait a second.” They twist on their heel, calling Charles and Ky over to the one corner of the room away from the others and they began talking. “Okay. All three of us have something in common.” Ky exchanged a look between them. “We’re the infected, known as Cranks. The three of us really never stood a chance to survive and be healthy. WCKD just added us to the experiment to see us squirm like a snail having salt being poured onto its back.”

Ky then frowned, side eyeing Charles, not believing that he was infected because he had been acting so normal and didn’t have any outbursts like Quinn or Ky. But then, she began thinking about it, and it dawned on her that he did show a symptom of being infected. Stomach cramps. Charles complained whenever he ate something, saying how he felt full and needed to throw up. He usually dismissed it as maybe something was cooked wrong or something went bad even though no one else would get sick. 

“Tonight, we need to take every chance that comes our way to destroy that facility—to harm those who’ve harmed us and the ones we loved and lost.” 

Ky automatically disagrees. “Quinn, no. That’s wrong.” 

“And them kidnapping Immunes isn’t?” 

“Well, no. But, Quinn, despite everything they have done, they were trying to find a cure for people like us. It was a necessary evil . . a chaotic good.” 

“How dare you say that?” Quinn said, words lacing with anger and Ky could’ve sworn that she seen a few black veins beginning to form at the base of Quinn’s neck. “They’re not good people, Ky.” 

“Are we?” Charles then retorts which catches the two off guard. “Not taking sides here but if you look at it from WCKD’s point of view, we’re the ones being selfish. ‘Hey! Let us and our friends live, we’ll take away your only source of finding a cure. Who cares about the rest of the world? As long as we’re safe.’ That’s basically what we’re saying to them.” He pauses. “And this is our price.” 

Charles moves down the collar of his shirt, revealing his pulsing black and purple veins that were displayed on his collarbones and upper half of his chest. His skin already seem flaky, slimy at the touch, and the veins pulsated frequently. He had it worse than Ky and Quinn. Charles covers it back up.

“Quinn.” Jorge calls. “Come on, we’re gonna be late.” There was no more words from Quinn, they just turned and left to head out with Jorge and Dean. Charles and Ky watched them leave before going back to preparing. Charles went to Gally while Brenda called Ky over to help her with packing up since Micky was with Frypan and Newt, the three of them eating a small snack. 

Teresa sees her sister with Brenda, thinking loudly, speaking to Thomas. “She’s looking good. Healthy. How’ve you been giving her serum?” 

“What you talking about?” Thomas knits his brows together. 

“Brenda.” Teresa goes back to focusing on his neck, grabbing more gauze to collect up his blood as she worked. “I didn’t think she’d still be alive. When was her last treatment?” 

“At the Right Arm.” Thomas replies simply, not thinking much of it. “The last time we saw you.” 

Teresa then pauses on tugging the small cord of the chip, straightening herself out to fully process what he had just told her. “But that was months ago . . .” Absentmindedly, she tugs and the chip snags which makes Thomas jerk forwards. He shoots a look at her, touching the back of his neck to see her expression of puzzlement. “Thomas, that’s not possible. She should have turned by now. There’s no way she could possibly still—”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Thomas gets up, dismissing himself to walk away but Teresa stands up quickly after. 

“You don’t believe me?” 

Thomas didn’t wait to turn around, getting in her face. “Do you really expect me to?” Teresa held back her tongue, holding his intense stare. “You made your choice.” 

Gally noticed the tension, stepping over as he slung his bag over his left shoulder. “Everything okay over here?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, we’re done.” He replies, not looking away from Teresa as he did. “Ky,” he then announces, turning back around and headed on over to the girl. She looks up at him, seeing him drawing closer. “You ready to get your friends back?” 

Teresa seen how close he was to her little sister, how they were friends, and how maybe—just maybe—if her hunch about him was correct, he just might help her once she tells him the truth that she wasn’t Immune. 

She slowly rotates, spotting the cloth she used to clean up his blood and began reaching for it until Gally snatched her wrist. Teresa lingers up her eyes, seeing how he had a hard look. “Nice try.” He then keeps her arm in his grasp, placing his other hand on the back of her shoulder to escort her back to the one room. But Teresa, cunning as she was, she reached for the gauze with her left hand; balling it up into her fist and kept her arm down at her side before placing it into her pants pocket. 

Ky hands Thomas his belt and he thanks her, putting it on and buckling it. Brenda was cleaning a gun, staying quiet as Teresa was taken out but once out of sight, she began speaking to him. “You were in love with her, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, I dunno.” He mumbles, picking up the WCKD jacket and fluffed it out before putting it on. 

“Just be careful.” Brenda says. “You sort of have this problem where you can’t walk away from people. Even when you should.” She grabbed the cartage of bullets, inserting it into the bottom of the pistol and glances to Thomas. “You can’t save everyone, Thomas.” 

“I can try.” He takes the gun from her as she held it out to him, cocking it back to load a bullet into the chamber and places it into his holster. Brenda heads off to Micky, to speak with her and let her know that they needed to leave before the others to try and steal a bus to load the Immunes on for when Thomas, Ky, Charles, and the others freed them. 

“You’re a lot like me.” Ky whispered to Thomas, gaining his attention as she button up her red WCKD jacket. “Can’t leave the people who hurt us alone and have the need to try and protect everyone.” 

“Yeah, but you’re more forgiving.” He nods. “I seen how you and Teresa were talking.” 

“She’s family, Tom.” Ky said, that being her only rational reasoning. 

“I know, but, you can never be too careful.” He goes silent, noticing how James was gloomy and nudged Ky. “You might want to check up on your friend over there.” 

James was messing with his fingers just like how Ky did whenever she was nervous except he began picking at loose skin on his thumb and pulling it off which drew blood. He was in his own little world, untouched, unnerved, and motionless. Though there was no external changes in his appearance, there was a warfare that went on inside of him. And like rain coming to calm the wildfire, Ky sat down besides him, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

His blue eyes meet hers and he shudders. “Hey, love.” 

“You nervous?” 

James nods. “Yeah . . It’s just . . All I ever had my whole life was this place and these people.” His voice is shaky, airy from him trying not to get emotional. “I was an orphan and I, I had a sister named Laurie, and we were adopted into WCKD because we were Immune. Ava Paige literally became a mom to us. She just wanted to save children and people from a terrible fate that she accidently caused, and I knew that. I knew that because we were a family. The Trials, the Swipe, and taking away memories, it never seemed bad to me because it was all I ever known. What I was raised to know as being correct and helpful. We were trying to save the world, and I was told to go into the Group C Trial to try and get your Killzones activated since none of you were risking yourselves by going out into the Labyrinth. Well, except for you. You were the only one that tried, same with Cass. Janson wanted me to get close to you because they found it strange that an non-Immune was doing most of the work. So I did. We got close and Janson, the snake that he is, he didn’t just do it for me to figure you out. He did it so Owe’s Killzone would be triggered.” 

A small tear fell from James’s cheek as he blinks, sniffling and opened his mouth to breath properly since his nose become congested from trying to keep all of his emotions in. 

“You’re the one that taught me love. Like, proper love.” He softly revealed to Ky. “Not like the attractive sort but, dispassionate virtuous sort of love. I will admit, I didn’t feel it until your heart stopped. When it did, seeing everyone around me—especially Owe—I knew I had to try to bring you back. You have such unfathomable compassion, no matter happens to you or what a person has done, you never fail to be kind. You showed me the true meaning of family, Ky . . . I can’t thank you for that.” 

Ky felt herself getting emotional from his words. James was opening up, pouring his heart out to her and she took it all in like a sponge; absorbing every little piece of him into her soul and being. 

“In the Scorch, I was just . . I was so confused. The Islers were my friends but WCKD, they were my everything . . . And finally seeing it from the other side of the screen, seeing how miserable you all were, how much they terrified you. Just how cruel they really were and how damning they could be, it was just hard to know how to react to something like that.” He sniffles, rubbing his nose as more tears fell. “I was weak.” 

Ky shakes her head. “You didn’t have weakness, you had a virtue, James. You just couldn’t see the bad in the only family you ever had.” He nods and she gives him a side hug, rubbing his back like the many times he had for her when she couldn’t sleep during the nights due to bad dreams. They stayed like that until the others were ready, all in suits and armor, and equipped with walkie talkies to keep in contact with one another. 


	22. PART 3, CHAPTER 8: Istanbul

The WCKD facility build loomed over, standing tall in the sky while the patrol cars surrounded the bottom, few of them driving off to search the streets in search of any person that was out pass the city’s curfew. It had just turned 9:15 and Teresa’s heels trek across the cobblestone as she was being escorted by Thomas who was covered head to toe in WCKD suit and gear; even having a Launcher. They both walk straight in, other guards giving them nods as they stepped through the surveillance detectors, the light binging green for access.

“Don’t stop. Keep moving.” Thomas speaks through his mask, grabbing the under section of her arm, still leading her down the lobby until they seen two Red Shirts standing in front of them. Right away, they knew it was Newt and Charles; Thomas nodded to the boys. Charles checks them out first then Newt motions for them to follow his lead since he scoped out the area from coming in through the parking garage, taking the steps down to where Charles and him came from.

The three of them make it down, gliding across the hall’s window glass that showed the parking lot where other guards stood with vehicles that belonged to the employees of WCKD. Thomas peers over to see a guard and a Red Shirt with Launchers, taking the exact same steps as them; it was Gally and Ky. Their reasoning for behind out there was so Micky, James, and Brenda could sneak in unseen to try and hijack a car for the Immunes they were trying to save along with Minho, Anne, and Hayley. They went on, heading forwards, tilting in and merging with Thomas and them since there was an opening.

For the staircase they went, Teresa using her thumbprint on the scanner and Ky glanced to the pad, seeing a picture of her sister popping up with the name of Teresa Agnes. The door buzzed, Teresa opening it and holding it open for the four followers, Charles closing it since he was the last one out. Thomas instantly begins to head down the stairs with Newt, telling Teresa up in front to keep on moving while Gally eyed the electrical boxes that there rigged up on the wall.

“Hold on. Hold on.” Gally looks them over, touching the one for its feel. “I can get in here.” He lifts up his mask, taking a good look at it and Thomas does the same along with Charles.

“Stay here.” Thomas says to Teresa before speaking to Gally. “Here, throw me the walkie.” He opens his hands as Gally tossed him the device, catching it. He hooks it to his belt, beginning to search the lower sections of the staircase to make sure no other person was in there with them before making a dispatch. Charles searches upstairs as well with his Launcher, at the ready just in case.

Ky watches as he does before seeing Newt lifting up his mask, coughing horribly over the banister. She lifts her mask slowly, studying the features of his face; his nose was a deep shade of red, lips seemed to be purple, bags under his eyes were beginning to form, and a few strands of his hair that hung in front of his forehead were sweaty. Ky knew this look all to well.

“Newt . .” She steps up to him, patting his back. “You infected?” Newt nods, his coughing growing nasty and Ky frowned. He was trying to calm down, his chocolate brown eyes seeming to shift into a darker color. “Charles infected, too.” She says with a bit of hope as if him hearing it would somehow cheer him up—to let him know that he wasn’t alone in being sick. “So am I.”

On the lower steps, Teresa stares up at Newt and Ky, overhearing the confirmation that her little sister had received the virus, it now coursing through her veins and put her humanity on a countdown. She began breathing heavily, thinking back to Brenda and how Thomas said that the last time he treated her was at the Right Arm based that was six months ago. Something wasn’t adding up and she needed to know what it was.

Gally takes out his drill, cutting the lock off while Thomas traveled back up the stairs and phoned in on the walkie. “Frypan, we’re in. How you doing?”

 _“Yeah, I’m getting there.”_ His voice comes on in. _“Tell Minho, ‘Hi’, for me.”_

“Hang in there, buddy.”

The lock falls off and Gally gets it open, searching the wires for what he needed until he landed on one. “This’ll work.”

Thomas switches channels on the walkie, calling again. “Brenda, Micky, James, what’s your status?”

 _“Status is, we’re working on it.”_ Brenda radios back.

“Copy. Just make sure you guys are ready on your end.”

 _“Don’t worry.”_ Micky’s voice comes in this time. _“We’re going to be there.”_

Gally brought out his device, cutting the wire and hooked it up to the gadget, pressing a few buttons to turn it on and program it. He then stuck it in on the inside of the door, closing the lid. “Alright, let’s go.” The six of them started their descent down the flight of stairs, heading straight for Sub-level 3.

 

At the Crank Palace, Quinn and Dean were in the security room just sitting and chatting among themselves until the one computer came to life with noise, boxes popping up with livefeed from with inside WCKD, and text being typed out at a rapid pace. A few workers in the room instantly fled to the computer, checking the signal and notified the right hand man that stood with Lawrence.

He inspected the screen, flabbergasted as Lawrence came in with his cane. “Gally did it.” He spoke loudly to him. “We’re in.”

“Good.” Lawrence eyes the screen as well. “Give me everything. I want full control.”

“What exactly are we going to do?” Quinn stands with a scowl, the bag under their bags were already a dark black and blueish color as if they hadn’t slept for five days. “Because I want my revenge. And I want it now.”

“We all want it.” Lawrence turns to them, grinning. “Give me just a little longer, and I assure you, you’ll be getting what you asked for.”

“Promise?”

“I swear.”

 

Gally stood next to the door, peering out and up at the one camera and watched it for a signal. When one did show, he picked up his own walkie talkie, calling in. “Lawrence, we’re in position.” He waited but there was no response. He tries again. “Lawrence.”

Thomas steps down, exchanging a look with Gally until Newt took up. “If he doesn’t turn those bloody cameras off we’re in big trouble.”

Gally glances back out at the cameras, nodding to the group to reassure them. “He’ll do his part.” He places the walkie back into his pocket.

“Guys, we don’t have time to waste.” Ky remarks to them, pulling down her mask and tightened her grip on her Launcher. “We gotta take Gally’s word for it.” Thomas, Charles, and Newt all understand the dire situation, pushing down their masks as well and Teresa jutted out her thumb, pressing it on the scanner to grant them access.

Gally opens it up and Thomas presses Teresa on out first, him behind her with Newt, Ky, and Charles following. Gally stays in the back, keeping a lookout from behind with Charles while Ky and Newt kept their attentions up front with Teresa and Thomas for anything as they hurried.

“We’re almost there. It’s just ahead.” Teresa states and that made Ky ansty, her scurrying up and sprinting down the hall. Charles followed along and the others did too; better to be quick than too slow.

In the dormitory, the one man eyed the security cameras on his desktop, seeing the one glitching in and out. “That’s funny. System’s glitching.” He retorts to the other men that he was with.

“I’ll go check it out.” The one guard grabs his gun, heading straight for the door and presses his thumb on the scanner which automatically opens the door and there stood Thomas, Newt, Gally, Ky, and Charles with their Launchers at the ready.

Thomas cocks his, shooting the man backwards on the floor, grunting with electricity tendrils wrapping all over his body. All five of them began firing as the WCKD men ducked down behind the desks, pulling out their pistols and firing back in a massive shootout. The Immunes were in their rooms, backing up from the doors, covering their ears, and hovered down to the ground in confusion and being scared.

Once the WCKD men were all knocked out, Thomas, Newt, and Charles began opening the doors to all the rooms to escort the Immunes out in search of Hayley, Anne, and Minho. “Come on, you guys are okay.” Thomas spoke to a group of girls. “Come on.”

Teresa watched the younger kids coming out, seeing how nervous they all were and remembered when Ky was their age, so scared and frightened, hardly knowing what was good and bad; what was safety and what was deceit. It really dawned on her the actual damage that this caused. This kids all had lives to live and yet, they were captured and to be tested on forever, never able to have a real childhood.

Gally squats down to a WCKD employee, placing his pistol to their neck and tugging on their collar. “The vault. How do I get in?” He asks and when they don’t answer, he tugs on the shirt harder and presses the gun more into their jugular. He needed the serums for two reasons. One; so WCKD wouldn’t be able to have them, and two; so Newt, Ky, Charles, and even Quinn, could buy themselves more time.

“You can’t.” The man replies in a hushed, husked voice.

Annoyed, Gally tosses him off to the side and stands up, heading straight over to the vault. He sees that he’s able to get in by cutting through the metal structure but with his saw drill that he had, it would be a longer wait. “Guys, this might take some time.” He announces to the crew.

Ky raised her mask as she tapped her foot, watching as Charles opened the last two remaining doors, motioning for the Immunes to follow on out but still, there was no Hayley or Anne—Not even Minho. Charles turned around to face Ky, furrowing his brows and glanced to Teresa. “I thought you said our friends were here?” He remarked sternly, the veins on his neck growing higher to the point where they now reached his jawline.

Teresa turns to the desktop, logging in and began pulling up their files. Hayley’s was first. “She entered a simulation and the last logging of hers is entering a Control Room on the Sixth Level.”

“What’s a Control Room?” Ky questioned.

“It’s where Immunes go to de-escalate themselves after being tapped into a simulation to stimulate their Killzones in order to produce a serum.”

Thinking of what she said, Thomas immediately looked to Ky. “That’s what they were doing in the Scorch Facility.” He recalled. “Those kids that were strung up, comatosed. They were testing those Immunes for serums.”

“But why did they call me?” Ky pondered. “I’m not Immune. WCKD knew that.”

That’s when Charles took over, him having thought it through. “I’m guessing Blaire told her daddo Janson that if  he called on you to leave, we’d do everything we could to try and get you back. Which means that they probably knew that Thomas, Lina, and Aris were in there to rescue you and had overheard the talk between him and Ava Paige. It was all orchestrated for us to find Right Arm just so Blaire could give their location to WCKD.”

“Teresa took care of the location part.” Thomas bickered, but agreed with Charles on everything else that he said. “Okay, what about Anne and Minho?”

Teresa types their names in, getting their files. “Somebody moved them both up in the medical wing. Thomas, that’s on the other side of the building.” She looks up at him in shock.

“Alright, we can get Hayley first then go and get Anne and Minho.”

“I’m coming with you.” Newt rounds the desk, grabbing his mask and Launcher.

“Newt, no, you’re not.” Thomas defended. “You have to stay here, wait with Ky and Charles until Gally gets the serum.”

Ky broke into a confounded chuckle. “Who said I was going to wait here for the serum? Two of my friends are here and are in two different locations. It’d be easier if Charles and I hurried and went to the sixth level to grab Hayley and quickly return down here while you guys go get Anne and Minho since they’re in the same place.”

“You guys aren’t Immune.” Thomas reminds the trio who were keen on saving their friends more than themselves. “You need the serum.”

“Thomas, you can’t do this on your own.” Newt eyes him. “And I told you, Minho comes first.”

Ky nods in agreement. “Same with Anne and Hayley. I can’t lose another Isler.”

“Just go. We’re wasting time.” Gally stops with the drill, calling out to the five. “I’ll get the serum. We’ll meet you out back.”

“Okay, fine. Let’s go.” Thomas says in defeat.

Ky puts down her mask just like Charles, Newt, and Thomas, them all heading out into the hall and back to the staircase, heading up. Teresa, Thomas, and Newt split from them but not before giving Ky her own walkie talkie and told her what channel to keep it on for them to contact one another.

“I just remembered,” Charles began to say as they began their run up the many flight of stairs they’d need to take to get to Hayley. “She’s going to call me Carlos like the old days.”

“Maybe she can change it to Charlos, so it’s a mixture of both and doesn’t completely remind you of Blaire.”

He scoffs. “Speaking of, better hope we don’t run into her because if we do, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be able to control this rage that’s growing inside of me.” Charles’s grip on his Launcher tightens, the anger slowly developing into a fire that just only needed gasoline to make it burn brighter, meaner. “If I see her, I’ll want her dead right where she stands.”

 

At the Crank Palace, Quinn was helping the infected people like themselves with loading up rifles, revolvers, pistols, bazookas, ammo of all sorts, bows and arrows, grenades, lighters and glass bottles filled with lighter fluid and rags; there was so much going on. Dean just stood by, watching it all happen and couldn’t believe what his eyes were comprehending. He was in utter puzzlement. “Take everything! We’re moving out!”

Quinn readied their own bag, slugging it over their shoulder and seen how Dean was just standing like a lost puppy. “Dean, if you don’t want to be apart of this, that’s fine. But don’t look at me like that.”

“I just don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t, you’re a Munie unlike us Cranks.” They say bitterly. “This plan of Lawrence is genius and it needs to be fulfilled”

“That guy is going to destroy everything, Quinn.”

“‘That guy’ is going to put WCKD in their place. Where they truly belong. They deserve to pay for how they treated my people unfairly.”

Dean was astonished. “Your people? Quinn, your people is us! The Islers. How you’re talking . . It’s not you.”

“You’re right, it’s not me. It’s the real me.” Quinn corrected him. “And I rather die fending for what I believe is right than being a coward, hiding behind a big corporation that put up walls to ignore the real people who are struggling.”

Off they went with the others and Dean hurried, going to try and find the walkie that Gally left behind for Lawrence to tell him what was going on but had no luck. He scurried to Lawrence’s room, smelling the scent of roses and noticed that the IV stand was still in the room, on the side of the desk were a picture was propped up. Dean circled around it, hoping that the walkie would be there but it wasn’t. Instead, there was a picture of Lawrence’s family in a meadow and he was with his wife and son. The three of them were smiling and Dean picked it up, smiling at the photo and felt bad for the man. He used to be handsome until the virus took him over, his wife was pretty and had a natural glow to her. And their son . . .

Dean instantly sat the picture down, his eyes growing wide for he had seen that boy before but as a grown up. The smile was still the exact same to this day. He didn’t know if Lawrence knew this or not, parents usually have the knack for picking up on who their kids are even if it has been years since they last seen each other. But with the Flare, learning of how it affects the brain and memories, Dean wasn’t so sure.

He wasn’t so sure if Lawrence knew that his son just met him a day ago; that his son was Charles.

 

[ Owe ](https://66.media.tumblr.com/169c34683910602453dc995d9513c778/tumblr_inline_o5gzdhqDBn1t4prg6_250.gif) lied in bed, staring up at the ceiling and tried to relax his mind but so many thoughts began swirling around that he couldn’t. He began rolling from side to side before ultimately giving up and went back to laying on his back with an exaggerated huff, his left arm resting above his head on the pillow while his right rested on his stomach; pointer finger tapping to a song’s melody. The exact same melody that he had heard Ky hum in the Scorch Facility, on their first night there. The same one that he sang aloud though he had never heard of it before, or that was what he thought. He remembered now.

When they were younger, Ky had told Owe that she couldn’t sleep at night because she was a night owl and her father used to sing her to sleep with the song called “Don’t Panic”. Though the lyrics were morbid, the chorus was charming with telling that they lived in a world that was beautiful. The harmony of the song was calming and for that, it made her sleep with ease. So late at night, he’d sneak out to her room and sing her asleep, staying with her moments after to make sure she wouldn’t awake again before slipping back to his room.

Slowly, he begins singing the song to himself, hoping that it’ll ease him right into a slumber after a rough day. The door to his room opens, light shining in and he squints, groaning. Poor boy couldn’t take a break.

“Jake,” it was his brother, Nathan. “Jake, hey. Get up.”

“What?” He sits up, running a hand back through his hair and furrowing his brows. “Why? It’s nearly ten. We should be asleep.”

“Not tonight. Janson made a call.” He pauses which makes Owe raises onto his feet, being even more wide awake than ever because he knew that calls meant a serious matter. “Thomas is here, in the building. And he’s with Teresa.”

 

Up on the sixth floor, Ky and Charles walked normally, being professional and since WCKD hardly known of the boy, he asked a worker where the control room was. The employee spoke up, saying how it was down the corridor, off to the left and how they needed to be careful due to the spill. Charles then questioned what he meant.

“Apparently, the pipes in the room broke loose as the Immune that was inside of it chained up. It flooded and the level raised, drowning the girl.”

Ky stumbled over, catching herself on the wall and felt her lungs compress tightly. Hayley was dead, had drowned within WCKD, right under their noses and they were too late to save her. Ky winces, her head throbbing and she just knew that the Flare was determined to take her over and make her even more sick. She remembered asking Brenda about it months back, how it felt, and what the process was like. She told her that the Flare acts up whenever you play on any emotion that you’re feeling—especially one like anger. You have to keep yourself grounded, act like a robot and that’ll buy you time . . . But how could Ky be in a time like this? Another friend of hers was gone and she blamed herself for them not reaching Hayley in time.

Charles looks to Ky, helping her up and walked her back over to the staircase where he had seen a few elevators. “Okay, we just came here for nothin’ but no need to worry. We’ll just go on up to Level 20 and meet up with Thomas and Newt.”

Once inside of the lift, the doors closed and Charles pressing the button, Ky tore off her mask to breathe. Her eyes focus in the middle, noticing how her nose was a light shade of pink, not completely red like how Newt’s was. She then watched Charles take off his, seeing how his nose was turning a different hue and the veins on his neck were more prominent. They now branched up and into his cheek and around the back of his neck to his spinal cord, pulsing to the beat of his heart.

Ky forces herself to look away, closing her eyes to try and settle herself down but she ends up hearing the sound of her own heart beating within her ears. _Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._ It was steady, reminding her of a clock—No, a timer. It was only a matter of time before it’d come to slow, rhythmic pace, and stop. Forever.  

The lift bings and the two Islers put back on their masks, stepping out with their Launchers and seen that they stood directly behind Janson who was pointing a pistol at Thomas who held Teresa in his arms, a gun placed at her back. There was other guards that surrounded them with their Launchers aimed, heading up slowly towards them and Newt.

“I’d known you longer than you can remember.” Janson starts off. “You’re not going to shoot her.”

“You don’t think so?”

“Okay. Alright then.” Janson retorts, lowering his gun. “Shoot her.” Thomas began panting, eyeing the two guards that just stood behind Janson. “Prove me wrong.”

Ky nodded to him, letting her know that it was her and Charles before slowly making way up pass Janson with their Launchers placed on Thomas just for show. Janson follows them, believing to be his actual crew while Teresa side eyed the emergency drill that was next to her and Thomas.

“Shoot her.” He taunts.

Fast, Teresa shoved Thomas back into Newt, spinning around and gave them an extra shove back beyond the door. She then watched as Charles and Ky darted through before pulling down on the emergency handle. The glass door immediately falls with a harsh thud, white and red alarms going off with buzzing.

“Clear! Clear!” Janson hollers, Teresa ducking down and covering her head as he fired at the glass even though it was bulletproof. He then storms up to the glass, hitting it while Thomas exchanged a look at Teresa before continuing down the hall.

Newt takes off his mask, smirking and tosses it on the ground, Charles doing the exact same and gave a goodbye wave to Janson. Lastly, Ky lifted up her mask, her stare finding Teresa’s before lingering to Janson’s. He instantly went from determined anger to stunned, she witnessed it and only imagined what that could’ve meant. She didn’t stick around though, she followed after the boys to go and retrieve Minho and Anne.

Janson turned around, staring at Teresa. “Your story better be good.”

“I just did you a favor. Doors are sealed. They can’t get out.” She replied firmly, trying to play it off as if she didn’t care about them even though she did. Teresa begins to walk away but pauses, giving him one last look. “Janson, I need them alive.” She continued on again, withdrawing the blood soaked gauze of Thomas’s and headed straight for her lab to test it out to finally get her answers.

 

Down on Sub-level 3, Gally tied up all the WCKD employees and placed them all into the vault while gathering up all the serums they had into one bag. He closes the vault, sealing it and grabbed his Launcher. “Okay. We need to get outta here now. You stay close to me. Stick together.” He scans the crowd of the Immunes, finding a blonde haired girl that was around the age of sixteen, holding the serum bag out in front of her. “You, you guard this with your life. You understand?” She takes it with a nod. “Alright,” he cocks his Launcher. “Let’s go!”

“What about Anne?” The girl asks him. “The doctor said that she was scheduled to come back here. If we leave without her . . .”

“But they say specifically that she’ll be coming here?”

She nods. “She tried escaping by busting through a window; jumped right in through and got herself scratched bad. A boy by the name Ricky Agnes had her get sent up to be taken care of, she’ll be back down here. He said that her friends would be coming to save us.” He listened to the girl, nodding as he was understanding that Ricky, Ky and Teresa’s brother, was on their side; not WCKD’s.

Just then, the door opens and there stood Ricky with Anne who was now all healed up, seeming to look fine. He then smirked, seeing the work they’ve done but then frowned. “You with my sister and Thomas?”

“Yeah. Just grabbing the Immunes and the serum.”

“Looks like I made it just in time.” He nods to Anne then focuses back on Gally. “Come on, I’ll help you guys out.”

Ricky, Gally, Anne, and the other Immunes made break for the parking garage; Ricky kept on lookout, peering around and ushered for Gally to take the lead with directing the Immunes on where to go. They all stayed low, running out while Gally pulled out his walkie talkie and phoned.

“Brenda, Mick, James, where are you? We’re here.”

They round the corner, a WCKD city bus came to a screeching halt, breaking right in front of them and Micky popped her head out the one window with James. “Someone call for an Uber?” She teases.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Gally runs the Immunes around to the other side as Brenda opened the doors that were located in the front and the back. “Front and back, front and back. Quickly!”

Brenda patted every single kid as they entered along with James at the other entrance, counting them all. Micky kept watch, seeing Anne boarding the bus and she wrapped her arms around her friend. Anne hugged her back tight, them not speaking because words just couldn’t capture how they were feeling.

The blonde girl heads up to James, and he gasps, feeling tears coming to his eyes since she was Laurie; his little sister. He kissed her forehead, hugging her tight, and questioned her on everything. Did she remember like him? What Trial was she apart of? And if WCKD hurt her with torture. She did remember him. She was apart of Group H, and WCKD didn’t hurt her intentionally.

Once all the Immunes took their seats, Brenda knitted her brows together. “Wait, where’s Thomas? Newt, Ky, Charles?” She listed off.

Gally shrugged. “I was hoping they were with you.”

Anne overheard as well as James and Micky. “Ky’s here, too?” She pondered and James nodded.

“She was determined to bring you, Chloe, and Hayley home. Until she found out about Chloe from Teresa.”

Anne shook her head. “She shouldn’t be in there. There’s no reason to be! Hayley ended up dying . .”

“What?” Micky was dumbfounded, gulping with her wide eyes on display.

“Hayley ended up dying after a simulation. Ricky told me . . . We need to get her!” She then panicked, about to get off the bus but Gally stopped her.

“Wait! Wait! Just, uh, wait here with the kids, Brenda, and them. Wait here . . . I’ll find them.” He pulls down his mask, tightening his grip on his Launcher and began running back to the building. “Just wait for us, okay?”

Brenda sees him head off. “We’re not going anywhere.” She backs in side, shutting the doors and everyone sat on down, resting.

Anne began shaking her foot, eyeing Micky but mostly James. “James, I wanted to forgive you about the whole thing that happened in the Scorch. Ricky told me a few things and I’m sorry, you were just doing what you thought was right because it seen it to be right. So, can you forgive me?”

“Of course. And not just because you’re pretty.” He teases and she smiles wide. “There’s the smile I missed.”

Out in the lot, Brenda seen how a WCKD patrol car swerved right in, parking in front and she quickly yelled for everyone to get down on the floor. The listen, keeping quiet and she peers over the dashboard, seeing men running out and into the building. One began running but stopped, seeing the bus and she exhaled in defeat as he began radioing in.

Three more guards come back out, approaching the vehicle and Brenda glanced back at the kids and the Islers to see them all looking to her. “Looks like we’re going on a field trip.”

“Everyone,” James states to the kids, “hold on.”

Brenda turned on the bus, the engine roaring to life which made the WCKD guards stop in their tracks. She then pops up in the driver’s seat, staring them down. “Someone’s got the bus!” A guard shouts. Brenda shifted the gear, slamming her foot down on the gas and bulldozed through the men, driving on out of the lot and straight into the city while guards where running to their patrol cars.

 

 _“Code 22 in progress. All R-16 personnel, report to their assigned stations.”_ The announcement repeated within the building as Newt and Thomas were in front of Ky and Charles, them trying to find Minho and search for Anne. Thomas’s theory was that they were probably grouped together, and that’s what they were mostly hoping for.

Ky kept her face down low, avoiding eye contact with anyone so they wouldn’t notice her and come to the realization that she was infected. Her face just began sweating, pieces of her hair clinging to her cheeks and neck from the moisture. She felt so gross, in need of a shower. Mentally, she began wishing for rainfall to cleanse her; to purify her of everything.

The group went around the one corridor, walking but Ky stops for a breather, feeling her kneecaps burning and stinging. She props herself against the wall, Thomas stopping to ask if she was alright. She shrugs him off, saying that there’s no issue; that she’ll recover and that he needs to continue ahead while she follows. He nods, doing as told and she closed her eyes, doing what Lucas told her to do before she left. Count to seven.

“One. Two. Three.” She got herself off the wall. “Four. Five.” She took a few big steps. “Six. Seven.” She repeats, heading down the hall. “One. Two. Three, four. Five. Six. Seven.”

Newt and Charles were now ahead, leading the way and they kept on going, crossing to the other passage but Thomas stops in seeing Ava Paige down the other corridor talking to a boy. Her eyes then catch Thomas’s, her body freezing and completely focusing on him. That’s when Thomas withdrew his gun, aiming it at Ava and shook with rage but then, trembled because he was no killer.

From behind, Ky seen how he stalled and straightened out her back. “Thomas, what is it?” She then gazes over, seeing Ava and the boy that was right next to her. The boy then turned his head, and Ky couldn’t mistake him for anyone else, she knew him too well. It was Owe, dawning a military suit and shaggy brown hair that was longer than the last time she seen him. She was too far away from him but she could tell that he said her name, his eyes laying upon her like a man finding lost treasure that’s worth over three million dollars.

“Thomas! Ky!” Newt and Charles both jolt forwards, grabbing the backs of the two and yank them back as Janson spotted them, firing away at the teenagers.

The four began running down the hall, trying to lose Janson and readied their Launchers as Thomas began screaming for Minho and Charles did the same for Anne. At the end, two guards came out and Newt and Ky both shot at them, sending them to the floor in crackles of electricity tendrils. They darted into another hall, Charles firing as well while Thomas kept calling out for Minho and Anne.


	23. PART 3, CHAPTER 9: Like a Fire

Thomas, Newt, and Charles kept on firing at the oncoming guards while Ky just aimlessly began fumbling around, taking random shots at things and not even trying to hit the guards. Thomas covered her until he ran out of darts in his Launcher, throwing it away and took out his pistol to shoot instead. Newt backed up with his Launcher, shooting at guards that came at them from the right with Charles’s help. 

More guards came filing in, Thomas ducking and running back to where the gang was perched around a corner and hovering down. Newt checked his Launcher, seeing that he was out and took it off of him. Charles still had a few left and Ky’s was barely even used, still filled but she just clenched it tight, non-moving as her eyes were glued to the floor. Thomas instantly checked up on her, concerned because he thought that he was losing her to the virus but she was responsive, just in shock. “Ky.”

“When you seen Teresa for the first time, like up close and personal,” she pants, breathing heavily and peering up at him. “Did it feel like the whole world stopped and it was just you two?”

Thomas couldn’t answer that question, at least not now. They were in the middle of a fight with WCKD, trying to search for their friends among the chaos. He had better things to worry about in this time and place. 

“Because seeing Owe . . It felt exactly like that.” She pauses. “And I don’t know if it was actually me or the Flare making me feel that.” It was at this time that Thomas realized that she was just talking to herself through her emotions, trying to make sense of it all so her feelings wouldn’t start up more symptoms of the Flare. He felt bad for her; she had talked of Owe so fondly over the last months that it reminded him of how him and Teresa used to be in their Glade.

The guards drew closer and Thomas moved out and around Ky, peeking out from the corner and began firing off his rounds of bullets. Newt went, crawling over to a guard’s body that he shot with his Launcher, finding a little cylinder and pressed the sides of it. The cylinder popped open, beeping repeatedly and he spun around, telling his friends to get back and chucked the device down the hall to the guards. The guards just watched it tumble to their feet, it exploding in a huge rain of sparks and tendrils enrapturing them into a big heap on the floor. 

“Nice.” Thomas says, Newt chuckling at the damage along with Charles and Ky. 

The four of them went around the corridor, seeing another guard that was aiming his gun at them, telling them to freeze and to get down on the ground. Just then from behind, the guy was body slammed into the wall by Minho then pinned up by his collar to it as he yelled in his face. He then swung the man around, throwing him through the one window and finished off his yelling, huffing. 

“Minho.” Thomas softly replies, running up to him with Newt and giving him a big group hug. They were all smiles, being their Glade selves again; reunited at last. They let him go, giving him time to adjust and he just stared at their faces for the longest time. 

“Is this real?” He utters. 

Newt nods. “It’s real, Minho.” 

“Minho,” Ky started, “Anne up here?” 

He then shakes his head. “No, uh. She was taken back down to the dorms in Sub-level 3.” 

“We were down there, almost like, a half an hour ago.” Charles stated, furrowing his brows. “Unless they just took her down when we left.” 

“That means she’ll be with Gally, Brenda, and them.” Thomas nods to Ky, reassuring her. “And Hayley, what about her?” 

“She died before we showed up.” Ky frowns, feeling her eyes getting hot. “There was no way we could’ve saved her.” Thomas nodded sadly, knowing that they couldn’t dwell on her death because they needed to move the hell outta there. And fast. 

“They’re over here!” Guards ran up from behind, shooting at them and the five began running away,  looping in out of the corridors to try and lose them. 

At every turn, more and more guards kept on piling on, blocking their way which forced them to redirect and head down another corridor to try and lose them. It became their game of cat and mouse. 

Ky thrusts herself up ahead of the boys, running in different directions as fast as her legs could take her until she came to a screeching halt, seeing Owe who stopped at the other end upon seeing her. He had been searching for Ky since his eyes landed on her, because he wasn’t sure if his mind had just imagined her or if she was a real corporal human being. 

“Ky,” Owe’s voice is weak, his body beginning to shake as his eyes scanned her over. He seen her face growing pale, eyes getting a hazy glow, and her nose was turning pinker by the second. Owe already knew that she was a goner to the virus, and by the looks of it, she had about four hours left before going past what Teresa called the Gone. 

The Gone is when the infected becomes a full on Crank with spores and cordyceps growing on their skin and out of their bodies. They become animalistic, cannibalistic, are unable to control their thoughts and are instinct driven. The Gone was the point of no return. 

But even then, Owe still believed that she was the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen and only ever wants to see, for the rest of his days. 

“Ky.” He goes to try and speak again. “Ky, I . .” He falters. Owe didn’t know what to think; seeing the one person that he cared so much for and had to let go because of Janson. “I can explain . . .” She instantly pressed off her right foot, striding straight up towards him and he counted on it. He expected her to shout, to call him out, slap him, shove him—something violent of the nature. 

Owe had imagined this moment so many times in his dreams with different outcomes, that he was ready for whatever her choice of greeting would be. And no matter what she chose, he told himself that he deserved it. His body prepared itself, planting his feet in his combat boots and he noticed how her one arm came up from her side. Ky got closer and closer, only a few inches away then . . . . He didn’t plan on this ending. There was no punch, no slap, no sting, not even a word of angert but rather, tiny arms that wrap themselves around the upper half of him. A hug. 

Ky was up on her tippy toes since he was six inches taller than her, her face snug against his collarbone and she kept her eyes closed, feeling the warmth that he radiated. For the first time in months, she felt truly safe, like the war inside of her mind had surrendered all because of him. 

Owe hesitantly lifted his own arms around her before moving quickly and enveloping her into his embrace, him burying his face down and into her shoulder and hair. Oh, how he had missed her. All those nights where he lied awake to hope that she was okay, those days when he constantly had to remember what he did on that crisp night in the Scorch, him breaking her heart and his very own by calling her a parasite; it all just faded away because right now, he had her in his caress and that’s what mattered more than anything. 

“Ky!” Thomas shouts from somewhere the back and Owe felt himself get disgruntled. This incredible, soothing moment was now ruined because unfortunately, the world couldn’t stop turning for them. 

Ky lets Owe go, forcing herself to tear away from him to see Minho, Charles, Newt, and Thomas running up to them with looks of shock. Thomas went to stay something but shots fired from behind, causing them all to duck unison and cover their ears from the loud noises.

“Follow me!” Owe shouts to him, taking Ky’s hand into his and began leading them down the hall that he came from. 

Around they all went, sprinting down the hall only to find Janson at the end waiting for them with two guards. The six skid to a stop, Thomas glancing on over to the right to see a door and ran for it, telling the others. Ky runs, gripping onto Owe and pulls him in after her while they dodge bullets. 

Thomas shuts the door once her and the boys head in, locking it and backing away from it. Minho’s eyes quickly scan the room, spotting a metal shelving and calls to Newt and Charles for help. The three grab it, moving it over to the door and barricading it. They fumble backwards to Thomas, Ky, and Owe, seeing that they were all boxed in which earned an “oh, shit” from Thomas. 

Ky felt her brain being smothered against her skull and she raises her hands up to her head in hopes that the pain would cease. Owe takes immediate action, replacing her hands with his, fondling her crown. “Hey, Ky.” He whispers to her, staring directly into her eyes. “Hey. hey. You’re okay, you’re here. You’re right here.” His hands lower down, bottom three fingers resting on her neck, his middle and index straddling her jawline while his thumbs stroked her cheeks. 

She listened to his words, nodding in understanding and felt herself relax until the sound a drill began going off which made her turn her attention over to the door. Sparks flew in from the small crack, casting an orange glow upon her worried face. 

“They’re gonna get in.” She panted, slowly stepping out from Owe while her eyes were just fixed on the small orbs that were produced by the metalworkings.

Minho takes another step back. “Any ideas?” 

Owe looks to him then  right past at the huge glass window that was behind all of them. He charges up to it, feeling the tension of it and eyes the boys. “The glass . . . We can break it.” 

“With what?” Thomas asks and Owe motions to the huge cylinder tank of nitrogen that was stocked in the room. Thomas follows his line of sight, gathering Minho for help and they grab it, charging for the glass and throw it. The tank busts through, shattering the glass into millions of pieces, falling down the twenty levels and landing into the water pit that was below that had two WCKD patrol cars surrounding it.  

The six all head to the broken glass, staring down the drop and Ky felt her body tense up as a cool breeze blew back her sweaty, matted hair. She gulped, her eyes flicking up to the boys to read their faces. Minho was baffled, Charles seemed determined, Newt just eyed it like it was something he despised and was afraid of. Thomas was neutral about it, and Owe was somewhat confident because he knew that this was their only chance at survival. 

Thomas nods after inspecting the scene. “Okay, it’s doable.” He exchanges looks with all of them. “Just need a little running start.” He then backs up, making room; Minho, Charles, and Owe follow while Ky and Newt just kept in place.  

Newt licks his lips, focusing down. “Thought I’d never have to do this again.” Ky seen how his veins were spreading up through his chin, his skin growing more ghostly. She pondered if she was looking exactly like him because not once, has she looked herself in any reflection since learning she was infected. 

Newt goes back with the boys and Ky heads after, standing right next to her Islers while Minho speaks up. “You sure about this?” He glances to Thomas but mostly Owe since the window was his idea.

“Kinda.”

“Not really.” 

Owe and Thomas both answered at the same time. 

“Nice pep talk, you two.” Minho huffs. 

Newt agrees with him. “Yeah, we’re all bloody inspired.” 

The whirring noise of the saw outside of the door became louder, turning into a whine which made Ky peer over her shoulder. The sparks got smaller, now raining in torrents, indicating that they were close to opening the bolt. Her breathing increased heavily because she knew what was next, and it terrified her. 

In the palm of her hand, she felt a warm, tender, and tranquil touch that she instantly knew belonged to Owe. Her eyes finds his already fixed on her face, his lumped pink lips wearing a smile that sent chills up her spine and caused goosebumps over her sensitive, delicate skin. She longed to see that smile of his again, and she did, in this very moment. 

“You can do this.” He encourages her just how he did when they were in the Scorch and she was on the webcracking window. “We can do this.” A pause. “You with me?”

Ky nods in confirmation. “I’m always with you.” 

The door busts in, the WCKD guards and Janson pressing themselves on in which made the gang whip around in shock. Ky readied her feet, being the first to take the lead straight towards the window since the adrenaline started coursing through her body. Hand in hand with Owe, she jumps off her right and presses herself out with her left. Owe does the same, making sure that his hold on her was tight as they caught air and began falling. Thomas, Newt, Charles, and Minho took the leap directly behind them, all of them yelling and spreading out their arms to give them more time in the air to cushion their fall. 

Ky was the first to take the plunge, her hand breaking away from Owe’s the second she hit down. The water was deeper than she originally thought, sinking down as the others hit the surface, falling in all around her in air bubbles. She watched as Minho went up first, throwing his hair back and out of his eyes. Newt and Charles came up at the same time, doing the same like Minho since their hair was longer. Thomas and Owe then joined, them only tossling their soaked hair back by flipping back their heads but as for Ky, she just stayed down below the water, spectating. 

She felt peaceful and serene. Being under the water, seeing moonlight shining down through the surface, it reminded her of the Isle. She used to think that was the worst place in the world until the Scorch and this city. The Isle was the only place where she knew how to be safe and understood all the dangers unlike what the rest of the world had to offer her. But, the one thing that the Isle didn’t have was the truth. And with that in mind, she began swimming up. 

She busts through, coughing, releasing hot breath that tingled with the cold air and created small, misty cloud. Owe and his bugging eyes swim over to her, checking her out. “You hurt? You alright?” 

“I’m okay, Owe. Just got winded.” She coughs once again, peering up to where they used to be seconds ago. 

Janson was leaning out of the window, observing the six teenagers down below, shaking his head with a grin at the fact that Owe was with them. Thomas raised his right hand, flipping him off before turning around and swimming to the edge of get himself on out. The others went in pursuit after. 

Thomas and Minho both get themselves out, helping the others effortlessly. Newt, and Charles had needed the most assistance of all since the Flare was messing them up even more than Ky which had made no sense to her. Charles had gotten infected a day before Ky and Newt was the same day as her, so why was she still in the early stage of the virus while the boys were already at developing into Stage Three. She would’ve conjured up the thought that maybe it had to deal with genders but it still didn’t match up due to the fact that Brenda had gotten bitten and deadly sick within hours just like Sapph. So what made Ky different? 

Guns were cocked, having the group beam over at four oncoming guards who had their Launchers at the aim. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” Thomas mumbles. 

“You six, don’t move!” The one orders. “Take it easy.” Thomas goes to reach for his gun that was in his pant pocket but the guard notices, warning him not to. “Get on your knees with your hands in the air.” 

Owe stepped in front of Ky, sheltering her with his body and locked eyes with the guards, standing straight. She then remembered that she still had her own gun that she hadn’t used in her pocket as well and went to reach for but ended up not having to. One the guards instantly spins to face the others, shooting them with his Launcher, electrocuting them as they fell on the ground. 

“You son of a bitch.” The guard that was speaking from before grumbles, passing on out once the electricity died down. 

The guard runs up to the six of them, taking off his mask to reveal that it was Gally. Thomas, Newt, Charles, and Ky all sigh with relief while Owe was unsure of who he was and Minho was utterly confused by seeing him alive and well. 

“Gally?” 

“Minho.” He breathes out, darting up from where they had jumped, shaking his head. “You guys are nuts.” Gally then goes, heading off. 

Thomas spits out water, padding Minho’s back. “I’ll explain later.” He then wanders off with Newt and Charles, leaving Minho in complete shock. 

Ky tenderly touches his shoulder. “I was in the same boat when I realized that Sasha had been alive for two years and not dead.” He then gives her a look and she shrugged. “At least you don’t have to live with his death on your conscience.” She replies in a soft voice because he was one of the lucky ones; no one had died because of him. However for the unlucky ones, like Ky, they had many. 

Janson was still above, watching the seven leave the area to go to the parking garage in search of Brenda which made him scowl with vengeance. He left the room, storming through the halls of WCKD, determined to capture those weasel children and calls to one of his loyal workers who was none other than Nathan Cooper. “Drop the net. Declare martial law. No one leaves until they’re found.” 

Nathan notes it down, nodding on his clipboard. “It’s done, sir. We already have eyes on the bus. Our patrols are in pursuit.” 

Janson stops in his tracks, thinking over what he had just said and  [ Nathan ](https://thumbs.gfycat.com/GlitteringHarmoniousAmericanindianhorse-max-1mb.gif) had to hide his sly grin upon seeing his face. His father was right, it did bring him joy to see Janson so bewildered. 

“What bus?” 

 

Sirens wailed loudly as Brenda drove on through the city, seeing two patrol cars coming up on the left. “Shit!” She shouts. “Hold on!” She swerves the bus, getting ahead of the them and continued on while Micky, James, and Anne were all checking up on the Immunes. 

The one WCKD vehicle got up on the left of the bus, Brenda seeing it and she instantly jerked the wheel over, slamming right into the side of it which made all the kids shout from the sudden hit. Brenda began yelling like a warrior and holding the wheel steady as she coursed them straight for the subway underpass, the patrol car hitting target and flipping over, crashing into one of the other vans that was following them. 

“Hope you catch your train!” Micky shouts in a fit of giggles which earns her looks from Anne and James. She shrugs, “What? It was a perfect opportunity to say it.” 

“Shit!” Brenda exclaims; Anne, Micky, and James look seeing more WCKD vans coming in front ahead. Brenda spins the wheel with a sharp turn, the bus ever so slightly began tipping its side and Micky thought quickly. She told Anne and James to lean on the right to weigh it down. 

James threw himself over onto the right, purposely crashing himself into the side of the wall while Anne just shifted over with Micky, balancing out the bus successfully while Brenda ran over a curb; jolting them and the Immunes around.

Brenda made it to the designated spot, pressing on the brakes and looked ahead to see more WCKD vans as well as guards that stood out in front of them to create a road block. The other vans drove in from behind, barricading the only way out causing her to sigh and eye the twenty-eight Immunes, Micky, Anne, and James. 

“Get out of the vehicle!” The one guard shouts. 

Brenda gets up from the driver’s seat, glancing at all of the Immunes and Anne who were concerned unlike Micky and James. “Don’t move.” She opens the doors, heading down the steps but pauses and heads back up to give them all a boost of confidence. “You’re doing great.” 

“What is she doing?” Anne looked to Micky. 

“You never read Jess’s book collection in the Isle, have you?” She questioned. “Well, what you’re about to see is brought to you by one of my favorite stories she had.” 

Brenda hops onto the road, glaring at the man before inspecting the back area. The man speaks. “Step away from the vehicle!” She doesn’t listen. “I said step away from the vehicle!”  

Brenda, this time, follows the order and moves up in front of the bus. Once she stands in place, even more patrol cars and vans drive up on the side road that was blocked off with posts. 

“Place your hands up in the air!” She slowly raises out her hands, revealing that she was holding a gun and the man called Brenda out on it. “Drop your weapon!” 

Anne slowly stands up, still hunching over and spotted Brenda lifting the weapon high up in the air, right by her head; proudly displaying it. Anne studied the gun, seeing how the tip was red which made her muddled. “What the heck kinda gun is that?” She whispers. 

James raises up next to her, grinning. “The one that’s going to save our asses.” 

The two of them witnessed Brenda squeezing the trigger, a red flare firing up high into the sky. It hit forty feet, it split off into other three sparks, arching over the skyline crane to signal Frypan who was up there, waiting. 

Upon seeing it, Frypan claps his hands together in delight. “Here we go.” He then pulled the lever down, dropping the hook straight down in front of the bus. Brenda rushed forwards in a hurry, grabbing it and attached it to the front bumper. 

“Push in! Push in! That bus does not leave!” The guard shouts while Brenda sprinted right back into the van, closing the bus doors and sat back in the driver’s seat. 

“Everybody,” James eyed all the kids, “hold on to something. We’re in for a flight!” The hook began retracting, causing the front of the bus to lift up off the street. “Here we go!” The guards charging up as the bus was hoisted upwards, the back of it swinging towards the men and they dived off to the side so they couldn’t get hit. 

The Immunes began screaming loudly, looking backwards to see that they were levitating above the city, clinging to the chair poles with all of their might. Micky was up in the front, directly behind the driver’s seat and Brenda, buckling herself to the one pole with her belt that she had. Then there was James, he fortified himself around Anne and used the muscles in his arms and legs to secure himself and her around a pole. He held them even tighter when the bus grated against one of the buildings which jostled them. 

Frypan squinted. “Sorry.” He apologized as he noticed his mistake, redirecting the bus through the rest of the buildings, and straight on over the wall where he left them hanging for a moment. 

Micky began hearing metallic groaning and peered up out of the window, eyeing the chain hook and gulped. “Oh, no.” The bumper shifted, the side breaking off which causes the bus jounce downwards and everyone to scream in horror. 

Brenda’s eyes went big, her focusing up at the crane as the bumper broke off even more. “Hold on to something!” She warns, her knuckles becoming white as she gripped the wheel. 

Frypan noticed the moving of the bus, eyeing the lever and yanked it down which caused a death drop for the bus. All the Immunes went back to screaming, all peering over their shoulders to see the ground approaching rapidly during their free fall. The wire on the crane burned up, turning red hot to the touch before the emergency breaker stopped the coil. 

The bus jolts, stopping twenty feet above the earth’s crust before the hook completely tears off the rest of the bumper and they hit rock bottom with a thud. The lights shut off, everything going black and the screams die down. The fluorescent lights began flickering, Immunes coughing up on the dirt that picked up from the crash, clouding the air. The bus groaned in response to the sudden collusion, standing straight up in the air before it creaked, signaling that it was going to fall down to create an equilibrium. 

The top of the bus began sinking downwards and everyone shouted once more, holding on again as it crashed. The tires popped, the whole front of the bus tore off, and the lights stopped flickering. The sign up front, in the window, that used to display “Red Zone” had now turned to “Out of Service”. Micky noticed it, chuckling and looked back to all the Immunes, seeing that they were all okay and sound. 

James let the pole go, releasing himself and rested back while Anne still held on it. She faces him, seeing him wince. “James, you alright?” 

“Fine, love.” He replies cheekily, landing eyes on Micky who was up in front. “Mickster, what about you?” 

“All good, British Biscuit.” 

He then spotted his little sister, [ Laurie ](https://em.wattpad.com/871e4b65fe8aa9eef4b737f3dfbdff9f160c7836/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f647043327a575a6e687a56686e673d3d2d3331303732323431302e313437336330616334346634613764303237363030323439323032332e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720) . “Lor, you good?” 

“Pretty winded, but other than that, yeah.” 

Brenda then propped herself up over the dashboard, peering out to see where they were and smiled wide. “Okay. Everybody off!” She opened the doors, rushing out and the Immunes and Islers did the same. 

Up at the crane, Frypan got out of the operation chamber, slowly making his way across the beams to the end where he had dropped the bus. He glances down, seeing the complete drop and took in a deep breath, using the ladder that was on the other side. Step after step, he went, reaching the lower platform and eyed the wire. He eyed the black gloves he wore before focusing back on the wire, leaping forwards and grabbed it; sliding straight down as he yelled. 

Down below, Brenda, Micky, Anne, James, Laurie, and the others heard him hollering in ethuasium. They watched him coming in hot, slamming against the top of the bus’s roof with a boom. 

“Fry, you alright?!” Brenda shouts up to him. 

“Yeah, yeah . .” He mumbled, crawling over to the side and eyes his friends with a haughty laugh which revealed his dimples. “Did you see that?” Fry asks in response to his stunt. 

“I give you a nine out of ten.” Micky laughs as well. “The landing could’ve been a tad better.” 

“I agree.” He nods, searching the faces of the Immunes and frowned. “Where’s the guys and Ky?” 

 

In WCKD, Janson and others took a trip down to Sub-level 3, entering the dormitories and seen how the place had been ransacked with guards all over the floor. He had originally gone down there to give himself more serum but once the patrolling officers called in, saying that the solen bus had children in it, he knew that they took the Immunes. 

He then opened up the vault, secretly praying that they didn’t get inside but of course, he was wrong. The only thing that was in there was a conscious guard surrounded by others that were still out, gagged and tied up. The man tried to speak, telling Janson to untie him but Janson ordered for him to shut up. 

Ava followed into the room, seeing the empty compartments and no more remaining serums. She stops by the vault’s door and Janson turns, seeing her. “They’re not out yet.” He says with determination, running out while she stayed and eyed the tied up guard in the vault. 

From behind,  [ Ricky ](https://66.media.tumblr.com/75c245af45e4c1fee9be24c774061b53/tumblr_o8z0qddhoz1v2b65fo4_r1_400.gif) steps up quietly and she sighs. “You helped them.” She says in a hushed tone. 

“Course I did.” 

She smiles. “I knew you would.” Ricky then observed her, intrigued by the choice of words that she chose to speak. “They took a lot of serum that could support your sister for about eight months, considering if she doesn’t have to share. But even then, it’ll be enough to say what you need before time’s up.” 

Ricky nods shyly. “You see her?” 

“Did you?”

“No.” 

“She’s in the early stage.” Ava states. “But soon, it’ll a developing because she’s with the others that are infected as well. And as we all know from the tests that we’ve been doing, she’ll—”

“She’ll progress faster.” Ricky finishes.


	24. PART 3, CHAPTER 10: Bones Sinking Like Stones

Teresa poured water out onto Thomas’s bloody appendage, grabbing a plastic syringe and pulled up on the plunger, collecting the bloody water at her lab table. She then grabs a beaker, filling it with water and mixed solutions together in order to test the blood that she salvaged for testing. Her train of focus was put on hold as her brother entered in the room, seeing her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m trying to see what’s going on with Thomas.”

His nose crinkles. “What you mean by that.”

“Brenda, she was bitten six months ago in the Scorch and her last treatment was there. She should’ve turned by now but she hasn’t, Ricky. She’s in perfect condition. That doesn’t make sense.”

“How bad was she?” Ricky inquires about Ky and Teresa stares up at him, her blue eyes burning into his green hazel ones. “You saw her, I didn’t. Was she okay? Ava said that she was pale, nothing more. But that’s not true, is it. There’s something else going on in the works. She’s with others who are infected.”

Teresa rolled her eyes, frowning and trying to think of a perfect way to explain the situation that was at hand. “It’s not life threatening yet, she’s still alright.”

“Yeah, but not for long.” Ricky immediately defended. “She’s out there with a WCKD bounty on her head and two others that are infected which puts her at risk for developing into a Crank faster. You know that. It was one of the first things that WCKD tested.” He was now fuming, but spoke in a calming manner. “Ky’s either going to die by the guards that find her or by the Flare.”

“Ricky, if this is what I think it is—”

“And so what if it is?” He argued. “It still won’t change the fact that her being out there with others that are infected makes her more accessible to the Flare. Still won’t change that WCKD is ready to kill her because all she is to them is just a Crank, Deedee.”

Teresa went silent, knowing that he was right. Even if her suspicions were true, their little sister was still in danger. But still, she was determined to focus on this at the moment.

“This is more important.” Without another word, Ricky left and Teresa went back to her work.

She grabbed a dropper, placing it into the beaker that she added blue dye in along with Thomas’s blood and placed a droplet on a glass slide. Teresa added the slide on the microscope stage, adjusting the lens to focus on the cells and stared down into the oculars. Her eyes enlarged upon seeing the unimaginable, backing away and gasping softly. She went back to inspecting the slide, grabbing her notepad and began making notes.  

 

Helicopters fly overhead, spotlights shining down on the streets in search for the seven who were running away and hiding out of sight. Gally and Thomas hunker down, kneeling while Newt and Minho slid down onto their knees behind a wall. Ky, Owe, and Charles squatted down, walking over and sit. Patrol cars flew pass, their sirens blaring as they pant heavily from their legs aching and hearts beating fast. They all had to run away from the parking garage after seeing that Brenda and the others weren’t there, figuring that WCKD came for them which caused a flee.

Gally huffs. “Well, they’re definitely pissed.”

Thomas nods, taking off his gloves. “How far are the tunnels?”

“Uh, maybe twelve blocks from here.” Newt began coughing horribly and Charles followed after in a fit, them both getting horrible by the second. Ky had her head hanging down, seeming to be tired as her body swayed from side to side, eyes drooping. Gally tore his eyes off of them, redirecting to Thomas who was frowning as he watched them. “We can make it.”

“Newt, how you feeling?” Minho asks his best friend.

Newt unzips his jacket, resting his head back. “Terrible.” He then placed his left hand up on his shoulder, putting a smile of relief on his lips. “It’s good to see you though.”

Minho rested his hand on top of Newt’s for a second, removing it and placed it down at Newt’s side before gazing over at Owe who was looking over Ky and Charles. He then turned away, heading on over to Thomas and Gally to speak with them.

Ky closed her eyes, resting her head onto Charles’s shoulder and just rested there for a moment while he kept on coughing. Owe furrowed his brows, slowly moving Ky’s head off of Charles and supported it upwards with his own hands. Her sheepish eyes open slowly, meeting with Owe’s and she blushes.

“Hi, Owe.”

“Hey, Ky.”

“I’m tired.”

“I know you are.” He draws closer to her, adjusting her head in his palms. “I know you are, okay, but you need to stay awake. Can do you do that? Can you stay awake?”

Her eyes go shut again, brain pounding against her skull, feeling it be affected by the virus. “I just want to sleep, Owe.” She whimpered, the tone coming out as a beg of mercy.

Owe gently placed her head back on Charles’s shoulder, going on over to the boys who still talked. “Thomas,” he began, “how long have they been like that?” He motions to Charles, Newt, and Ky.

“They’ll be okay.” Thomas takes off the WCKD jacket, throwing it elsewhere. “We just gotta go to Brenda. She’s got the serum.”

“How much?”

“A bag full.” Gally admits. “I stole a whole vault full. Enough for all three of them, including the other one, Quinn.”

Owe then frowned. “Quinn’s infected, too?”

Thomas nods. “Yeah.” He then gets up, wandering over to three that were infected, seeing if Newt was alright then went to Charles and Ky. Owe joins him.

Minho watched the two go over, Thomas helping up Newt since he had a bad leg and Charles and Owe got up Ky since she was becoming a bag of lazy bones but it wasn’t her fault, it was the Flare settling straight into her veins. Stage Two.

He focuses to his old pal from the Glade. “Why are you helping us, Gally? I put a spear through your chest.”

“Yeah.” A pause. “Nobody’s perfect, man.” He then gets up, patting his shoulder and runs off with his Launcher since Thomas, Newt, Charles, Owe, and Ky were on the move.

Minho gets up, going the six as they headed off straight for the city, making way to the tunnels.

 

At the Crank Palace, Brenda, Fry, Micky, Anne, James, and all the Immunes poured in, searching around for any signs of Quinn or Lawrence but seen no one. The place been abandoned completely and it disturbed Brenda and James the most, the two of them calling out for Lawrence. No answers, no calls, no responses.

“Where is everyone?” Frypan pondered, his eyes scanning the area. Brenda glanced back to him, her breathing heavily as she ran down the ramp to continue the search with James.

Anne was completely lost. “What’s wrong?”

“Cranks used to live in here, Gally brought us here because he knew that Lawrence had been looking for a way inside of the walls.” Micky explained. “The plan was for Quinn and Dean to stay here to make sure that Lawrence held up his end of the deal by getting into the security system and helping Thomas, Ky, Charles, Newt, and Gally in undetected with Teresa . . . While James, Brenda, and I waited outside in the bus for them to get you, Minho, Hayley, and the other Immunes out. Apparently, they had plans of their own.”

“Everything’s gone!” Brenda ran back up the ramp, looking to the group.

James then came back with Dean, having found him tied up in the lab where the computer system was. “Found Dean! They had him locked up like a bloody animal.”

“Dean, what the hell happened?” Micky eyed him as they both headed up.

“I-I tried, I tried to stop them. I did.” He frowned, rambling about. “They began packing up weapons like they were getting ready for war that’d last three days. Quinn, they . . They were so angry, and the veins were popping out of their neck. My god, the veins . . . They even started developing blisters on their fingers and neck. I tried to calm them down but they got hostile, tying me up, saying that the Cranks were their family now.” He teared up, choking on his words. “It was like it wasn’t even Quinn anymore . . . Then they left.”

Brenda suddenly remembered about the walkie talkie, taking it off of her belt and turned it on, dispatching as she walked off to try and hear the better.

“Thomas, you there?” No answer. “Thomas, can you read me? It’s Brenda.” Still nothing so she tries once more. “Thomas, this is Brenda. Do you copy?”

 _“Yeah, hey. Brenda, I’m here.”_ Thomas finally replied.

“Where the hell are you guys?” She whispered, holding a bottle of serum.   
_“We got Minho and even got Owe with us. We’re on our way to the tunnels now.”_ There was a pause. _“Brenda, Ky and Newt, they’re not doing so good. Charles is improving but Ky and Newt, they’re . . . They’re not.”_

“Listen, don’t worry about that. I got the serum and James has the others. Okay?” She softly sighs. “But Thomas, something’s up. Lawrence is gone. Him, his crew, even Quinn, are all gone. James found Dean tied up and he told us that they took all of their weapons for something. He has no idea where they went, and we don’t know what the hell is going on, but I’m pretty sure that you guys need to get the hell outta there. Now.”

_“Okay, yeah. On our way, just have the serum ready.”_

“Over.”

 

Lawrence strolled in through the ruin outerbanks of the demolished buildings of Denver, seeing all of the Cranks gathered around burning barrels. He wore his hood up to hide his face, making way through the crowd and a few recognized him, others not to much. They cheered at his arrival, his one friend helping him up into the bed of a truck that was filled with bottles and bins of gasoline. The man jumped down, making sure all the attention was solely on Lawrence while Quinn shown up, making sure they were front in center to listen to the speech that was about to be delivered. Everyone grew to a silence as he began removing his hood, revealing his face and a few gasped at the sight.

“Don’t be scared. I may not be pretty, but we all know who the enemies are, cowering behind those walls!” The crowd cheered in agreement. “They have a name for people like us in there. They call us Cranks! But I say that they’re the monsters.” They all cheer again. “They’re the ones who started this war, but tonight, we will finish it.” He hits his cane down with authority. “Follow me. Follow me, and we will show them the faces of the people that they have chosen to forget! Follow me and the city is yours!”

Quinn raised their fist high up into the air, screaming out with the rest of the people who started chanting words and readied their guns. This was a rebellion, a long overdue rebellion; the people were pushed, left out in the dirt, were tortured, and ridiculed. This was karma—this was payback. Lawrence turned, facing the wall and tapped his cane on the roof of the truck, notifying the driver that he was ready. The engine started up and the vehicle moved forwards, the crowd and Quinn running after it with wrath.

Up on the wall, guards that posted at the top seen the approaching truck, one of them calling into control and asked if they were seeing what was going on. In the room, Ben turned away from talking to his son Nathan and eyed the screen, seeing the truck; his eyes snapping to the gallons of gasoline that were attached to the back of it.

“Rogers, what do we do?” One of the men asks but Ben just looks to Nathan, them already understanding the plan since they conspired with Lawrence earlier and left the room without a second thought to go and gather things. “Rogers!”

The men turn, not seeing him and the one was shocked. “What we do now?”

“We’re taking over.” The one replied, scooting over to the one panel. “Get turrets one and two ready to fire.”

The men tried to work fast but the systems were glitching, failing. “Guns aren’t responding. I’m locked out.”

Lawrence pulled out a road flare, taking off the cap and struck it which caused smoke then a flame to emerge. He held it up high in his right hand, peering back up at the wall, it looming over the closer they got. The guards on top began firing, all them missing Lawrence as he opened up his arms out wide, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. This was his moment and he was basking in it as the memories of his old life flashed before his eyes in a lovely pattern of laughter, smiles, kisses, hugs, and family. That’s when the truck collided with the wall.

Orangery fire billowed up and out with a huge explosion that shook the entirety of the Last City, making the WCKD building quake and everyone on the inside scream from the suddenness of it. Even Teresa. Meanwhile on the outside, in the town square where Gally was leading the two groups three, the buildings that surrounded them gotten their windows blown out; shards of glass raining down. The seven face to the right, seeing the wall crumbling down in flames.

Gally just stood there, motionless. “We’re supposed to take down WCKD, not the whole damn city.” He utters sadly as the city alarms began going off to warn that the wall was down and the Cranks would be coming in.

“Gally, come on.” Thomas urged the boy on, him and Minho helping Newt with walking.

Ky was like Gally, she just kept her eyes on the massive opening, feeling herself being more awake than ever. She removes herself from Charles and Owe’s arms, taking off her WCKD jacket as she stepped up a few feet.

“Ky . .” Charles says in a low voice.

She peers down at her left arm, seeing black and blue veins that ran down to her fingers, reminding her of leafless branches. They weren’t as big as Charles’s, they were rather small like how Newt’s were at the moment. Of course, it was the exact same arm where she had been injured from the Habringer; the source of the infection sprouting from her old scar. She coils her fingers up and into her palm, making a fist and began counting to seven mentally to keep composure.

Owe made the first step up to her, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. He knew how her body worked—knew how to calm her down in the most effective ways. It was something that he been doing ever since he showed up to WCKD and his father introduced her to him, saying that she was the daughter of his good friend. They had so much history that Owe now remembered, and everything just made more sense.

“Ky,” his voice solemn, “Ky, we need to go.” Already, Owe could hear the roaring sounds of the horde coming in, all of the people marching through the broken wall with torches, guns, and other weapons.

Ky opens her eyes, facing Owe for a moment and he could tell that she was trying to fight the disease. With her fighting it, resisting it, it’d only make the progress worse; horrible. It had made him think of that quote: “Don’t go gentle into that good night, rage on against the dying light.” Ky was daring, a fighter, there was no denying that. And for this night, she was raging on to the best of her ability. But here’s the thing about fighting, you can only continue for so long until your body begs and gives up from exhaustion.

She rotated herself around, locking eyes with Owe and sadly sighed. “Quinn could with them.”

“Quinn.”

Ky nods. “They were hellbent on destroying WCKD, to tear them down. Quinn could with them, the Cranks. We need to them back. Like how we got Anne and Minho.”

“How you think we’re going to be able to do that, Ky?” He questioned, speaking tenderly and held her hands in his.

“We can think of something—we _always_ think of something.” Ky replies in a nervous strand of words. “We got this far. There’s no stopping now.”

“Ky,” Owe squeezed her hands in a kind temperament, “I know this is going to be hard for you to hear but you need to hear it. You can’t keep everyone safe.”

“I know,” she says in understanding, tears swelling to her eyes. “But if I don’t try, then what does that say about me? That I’m a failure?”

“It means you did everything you could.”

“No, that’s a lie.” Ky shook her head vigorously, watery mucus leaking from her.

“How’s that a lie?”

“Because if I’m still living—” She then cut herself off, feeling irritated and shut her eyes, scrunching up her face which let tears glide down her cheeks; her bottom lip quivering.  

Owe held her hands tighter, intertwining their fingers together. “Ky . .”

She calms, taking in deep breath and exhale through her mouth. “It’s a lie because if I’m still living and they die, then I didn’t do everything that I could’ve to protect them.”

There was nothing much said after that and Owe couldn’t find words to follow it up with, he just pulled her into another hug and held her tightly because it was the only thing he could think of. He just rested her chin on the top of her head, watching the rest of the Cranks file in through the wall and turned back to Charles who was telling them that they needed to catch up with the other boys before they were left behind. Owe agreed, still holding Ky close to his body and walked them off after Gally, Minho, Thomas, and Newt.

They traveled in down through the city, trying to round the block and found Thomas and them waiting; hiding behind a city cement plotting block that contained a tree since WCKD patrol cars were parked on the street. Charles, Ky, and Owe ran over, sitting down and waited. Owe drifted his eyes to Newt, seeing him looking worse than before. He then inspected Charles, the veins reached his face, his skin decaying and cordyceps protruding out the side of his neck. Lastly, he scans Ky again. Dark circles were forming under her eyes, her face was glistening with the water and sweat. The top of her hair began drying, the ends were still damp, clinging to her chest that took even breaths.

Thomas peered around the one corner of the block, witnessing another WCKD patrol car pulling up and scurried back to hide. “Shit.”

“Get ready!” A WCKD guard shouts to the others that were standing outside of their vehicles with weapons drawn.

“Alright, move up! Move up! Frontline down!” They ordered, getting everyone into positions while Gally watched them from the side, turning back.

Minho then leaned out, him now wearing a WCKD jacket to keep himself warm and blend in with the group. He sit back, thinking and turns to Owe since he was the one that worked at WCKD. “What are they waiting for?”

An explosion went off from Thomas and to their right, all of them turning to see a car burning in a blaze and hearing a crowd yelling. They kept her eyes trained, seeing the Cranks running full speed towards WCKD, shooting guns, throwing molotov cocktails, and firing other weapons that packed a punch.

“Get down, get down!” Gally shouts to them, reclining back on the ground, covering himself up. Minho and Charles do the same as him while Thomas kept close to Newt and Owe stayed besides Ky, holding her hand the whole time.

The frontline held shields, slowly walking up to the Cranks and fired at a pace, only targeting the dangerous Cranks. A truck rolled up, containing Quinn and five others who ran out with metal bats, battling the frontline with malice. Quinn held a bazooka, eyeing the patrol car and station themselves in front of the truck. They placed the bazooka up, aiming it directly at the vehicle and pulled the trigger. The rocket flew out, hitting and a flash of white light exploded in front of them which sent the car flying along with the other guards.

Gally eyed his group. “We gotta go. We gotta go.” He repeated in a hurry.

More guns fired and explosions sounded, making Ky squeeze her ears tightly, curling down into her chest and leaned herself into Owe’s arms. She had began crying and it came out of nowhere, striking her and leaving her upset to the point of producing tears.

Minho and Thomas got Newt up, supporting him as Gally and Charles got themselves up, and Gally began rerouting them to another place that they could go to get to the tunnels. Owe got Ky up, still holding her in his arms, ushering her away from the destruction that was happening behind them.

 

In WCKD, Ricky was walking down the hall, glancing out the one window to see the streets below that were being set on fire by the infected and hoped that his little sister had made it outside of the walls just like how Anne and the others did. Sirens wailed in the halls and the intercom was on, notifying that they needed to evacuate the building as a mandatory procedure.

“The last transport leaves in thirty-eight minutes. Please proceed to the roof. I repeat, this is a mandatory evacuation.”

He rolls his eyes, making a left and passing by a few workers that clung their research papers to their chests and rushed towards the stairs. “Magnes.” Ricky turns, seeing Ben walking up to him.

“Rogers.” Ricky nods to him. “Where’s Nathan?”

“He went to go and remove his chip. You get your taken out?”

“Did it myself.” He announces with a smug grin. “I see you did your part of the job well. Surprised Janson didn’t catch on.”

“If he hadn’t then, he has now.” Ben replied, looking around at the other workers. “And you? You hold up your end?”

Ricky nods. “Just did. The Berg is hidden in the old storage unit that’s by my apartment.”

“Good. I’ll go get Jake and—”

“Slight problem.” He began. “He’s not here.”

“What do you mean, ‘he’s not here’? The hell is my son?”

Ricky eyed him. “He left with Ky, Thomas, and them.”

Ben stared out the one window, hearing explosions going off in the distance. “They’re out there in that? They can get hurt.”

“Ky’s dying.” Ricky confirmed to Ben and after that, he eased up. “Owe knows that . . . Also knows how much time she has left. My guess is that he just wanted to be with her.”

“Ricky,” Ben tried to say but was lost for words. He said the only thing that he could which was a simple, “I’m sorry. About Ky.”

He sniffles, wiping away a tear that he felt fall and seen Nathan heading up from behind Ben. Nathan already knew the news and just like his father, there was no real of comfort to tell Ricky except for an apology. But that wasn’t good enough. He walked up to his bestest friend, giving him a hug and pat on the back. Ricky hugged him back, thanking him before letting go. Ben, Nathan, and him heading straight on out but not before grabbing a drone and remote.

Ava walked directly to the lab, seeing Teresa at her station, staring at her computer screen; fixated on it. “Teresa, what are you still doing here? We have to leave.”

Teresa glances up at her before peering down the tube to eye the specimen again. “No, I can’t leave. Not without Thomas.”

“It’s too late for that. He’s gone.”

“No. You don’t—you don’t understand.” Teresa looks to her, straightening out her back, grabbing the tube that contained just a few measly drops of his blood to show Ava. “I need more.” Teresa sets the tube back down into the holder, moving away and invited her over to eye the scope. Ava rounds herself, bending down and looked down into the oculars. “It’s not just slowing the virus down . . . It’s destroying it.”

Ava slowly pulled away, not believing that they had officially succeeded in their plans. She slowly turns her gaze up on Teresa, seeing her face that was filled with hope and relief but with some lingering fear.

“We need to find Thomas,” she remarks.

 

Brenda was sitting, tapping her foot while James was trekking back and forth, pacing himself with a hunch. He usually did whenever he was thinking. Anne just watched him before seeing her reflection in a broken window that rested over in the corner; her roots grew in over the past months, displaying dirty blonde that hardly clashed against the dark brown that she was given back in the Scorch Facility.

Static filled the air, cutting through the silence with occasional sounds of explosions from within the city. James stops dead in his tracks, eyeing the walkie like how everyone else was. Dean steps up besides Micky, listening in to hear someone mumbling on the end of the line. The connection then cut off, plunging them back into stillness. Brenda perks herself up from the crate that she sat on, eyeing the walkie. Suddenly, it came back to life.

 _“Brenda, are you there?”_ It was Thomas.

She runs forwards, snatching it up and called back to him in front of the others so they could hear as well. “Thomas, I’m here.”

With Thomas and the others, an explosion went off nearby the restaurant that they hid in to take a break for Ky, Newt, and Charles. It right was on a street corner, in the line of annihilation that was happening around them. WCKD guards were firing at the Cranks, making sure that they wouldn’t deface any other buildings was they were too slow and there was many more Cranks than them.

“You okay?” Gally questioned Newt and Minho since they were closer to the explosion. They nod.

Thomas inspects the others; Charles peeking out of the doorframe, staring out to the streets to keep an eye out for when the coast was clear. Owe still stuck to Ky like glue, sitting next to her, her head sluggishly resting on his shoulder as she rested her eyes and was breathing more heavily now. He sadly looked away, his mind racing, knowing the exact importance of this moment.

Thomas presses the button, “We’re not gonna make it.”

_“What are you talking about?”_

“Just take the others. Get everybody out while you still can.”

Anne began shaking her head. “Thomas isn’t serious, is he?” She looks to James, Micky, and the others in the room.

“He is.” Frypan muttered loudly for them to hear.

Brenda exchanged glances with all of them, pressing the button. “No.” She simply says.

_“Brenda.”_

“I’m not leaving you. Okay? So forget it.” She teared up.

 _“Even though you should.”_ He responded.

Brenda went still, she presses down on the button but doesn’t say anything as Thomas’s end picked up distance sounds of gunfire. She lets her finger off the receiver, a small trailing down her cheek and dropping her hand that held the walkie by her side. The Immunes, Islers, and Fry just all wore glum expressions, not knowing what to do to save their friends that were still inside of the walls.

Unexpectedly, from above, all of them heard a engine humming. It drew closer and Micky grinned. “No way.” She then took off, the other Islers following after. Frypan and Brenda went too, all of them running on out of the Crank Palace.

“Thomas, don’t worry. I’m coming to you.” Brenda dispatched during her run.

“What you talking about?”

All of them scurried out, attention to the sky and they all began laughing with celebration. “Our ride’s here!” Brenda calls into the walkie talkie, waving up as the Berg flew overhead with it’s blinding white spotlights that were scanning the area to find a place to land. “Just look for us near the tunnels.”

The Berg finally lands, Dean and Anne rushing back into the building to gather up the Immunes. James, Micky, Frypan, and Brenda all ran up to the cargo hold of the Berg, the door lowering down to reveal Vince, Lee, Diego, and Lucas.

“Vince?” Frypan was shocked. “Lee? Diego?”

“Good to see all of you, too.” Vince nods to him.

Dean and Anne returned with the Immunes, all of them staring up at the men and teenager that stood in the back of the Berg. Anne then noticed Jorge, him jogging up from the cockpit, stopping right in between Lee and Vince with a smile on his face. “Yeah, I know. I picked up a few strays.”

“Luke.” James smiled, seeing the boy and went up to him, hugging him tight before pulling back his face and kissed him on the lips for a good minute.

Micky smirks from the sight, nudging Anne playfully. “That’s one of the things you missed in your stay at WCKD.”

Lee landed eyes on Anne since she was up in front, seeing how she was safe and sound and searched for his own daughter among the faces; she wasn’t there. She wasn’t with them.

“Let’s get out of here, alright?” Jorge motions.

“Wait, no. Where’s Carina?” Lee butted in. “Where’s Ky?”

Anne gazed up at him, gulping. “She’s still inside.”

Brenda added on, “With Thomas, Minho, and them.”

Lee felt his heart sink, making him take a step back and Diego placed a hand on him, making sure that his friend was alright. “We’re going to get them.” Diego announces, turning to the group of Immunes. “Not leaving without them.”

“Hell yeah.” Brenda grins, getting on board while Vince, Jorge, James, and Lucas boarding up the Immunes and Islers into the back.

 

Gally led, his Launcher pointed while Charles held his pistol, bringing up the rear to make sure that no one would get the jump on them. Behind Gally, Minho and Thomas supported Newt who had lost all function in his legs; them becoming jello. Then there was Ky who was able to walk but Owe was determined for her not to use up all of her energy, giving her a piggyback. Her arms draped over his shoulders, her cheek resting against the back of his neck since he had hunched himself over. He then supported her up by wrapping his hands under her thighs, making sure her legs stayed around his waist.

“Alright. Newt, Ky, Charles, we’re almost there.” Gally shouts back to them.

“Just leave me.” Newt murmured.

They turned into an alleyway, heading down to round the side but an explosion went off, sending them all flying back as a car flew straight pass them on fire. “Back! Back!” Gally yells as more Cranks came running up, shouting in clamors and firing their guns.

Newt was settled down against the one railing by Thomas and Minho while Owe rested Ky down on the other wall that was across from Newt, the Immunes comparing them both. Newt’s irises were broken, colored black and the whites of his eyes bloodshot. Ky’s were still fairly normal, still a tad hazy and the color was lighter. The whole inside of Newt’s mouth was covered in the black goo whereas Ky’s was still normal, her glands producing more saliva than before.

Another explosion from far away sounds, making them all jolt from the suddenness of it but it drowns out with the humming of a Berg. Every single one of them titls their chins to the sky, seeing it fly overhead, the sight of it breathtaking because it meant that they had a chance at saving their friends.

“That’s them.” Thomas remarks, watching as it headed over. “It’s them. We gotta go. Owe, get Ky.”

Owe nods, turning back to see her whispering something to herself. He draws closer, hearing her sing her lullaby; the beautiful melody with the haunting lyrics. “Ky, hey.” He cups her face, straightening herself out. “Hey, hey. Brenda and them are coming. We need to go and be with them. You gotta get up.”

Ky opens her eyes, seeing him but they then focused on Newt who she said a good view of. Thomas was trying to get him up but he shrugged the boy off, coughing up more black liquid and resting himself back against the railings as he began wheezing.

“I’m not going to make it.” Ky whispered, earning a concerned look from Owe. He glances over his shoulder for a short second, seeing how her eyes were settled on Newt.

“Don’t say that.” He shook his head, not wanting her to think that way. She softly pulls up her legs, hugging her knees, her gaze going straight back to Newt. “Hey,” Owe utters to get her attention back. “You’re going to make it.”

She couldn’t look away, she knew that what Newt was going through was her fate, and it was coming soon. And she wanted to save Owe from having to see it. He had already to see his sister and mother die; she had to spare him from witnessing hers.

A small chuckle escaped her lips. “What a shame it is.”

“What?” Owe asks.

“To love someone when death knocks on their door.”

Owe was going to speak but Thomas spoke up over him. “Minho. Owe.” He turns to face him. “You two gotta run ahead, grab the serum, and get back to us as soon as you can.”

Minho was dumbfounded, his eyes darting back and forth between Thomas and Owe who shared the exact same look. “No.” Owe instantly refused. “No, I’m staying with Ky. Minho can go.”

“Guys, he’s right. I’ll go with you both.” Gally said, his eyes landing on Charles who just began coughing up black goo like Newt. “We just need to leave now.”

“Did you hear what I said?” Owe eyed the boys. “I’m staying. And that’s final.”

“Owe,” Ky’s voice croaked, “please just go.”

He turns his head, shaking it. “No, no. I’m not. Leaving you here. Ky, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to keep you safe while we travel through this city together.”

Tears filled her eyes as she lightly smiled. “You can’t keep everyone safe . . Your words.”

He then frown. “That’s not fair.”

She then broke into a broken laugh before the corners of her lips turned downwards. “And it’s not fair to let you die for me.” Ky lowered her legs back down to the ground, her right hand lifting up and resting on his cheek. “I don’t want you to die because of me. I can’t live with myself if something happened to you.”

Owe closed his eyes tight, pressing his face into her gentle hand and took in a deep inhale before placing his own on top of hers. He just wanted to forget everything, to let them have happiness.

“Owe, you need to go.”

His eyes open, looking to her one last time and nodded in defeat as Hans words danced around in his head. _When someone you care about is infected . . . you allow them to make their own decisions and you respect them, no matter how hard it is for you._ And that was what he was doing. Owe was respecting Ky’s wishes, and he wasn’t going to go against her for that.

He stands up, whispering a goodbye to Charles and sees how Newt was thanking Minho before they broke away. Gally got his Launcher out, heading over to the corner and checked it out. Minho was behind him and Owe steps over, Ky watching him as he did. The three began running off, ducking to make sure that none of them got caught in the line of fire, on their way to where the Berg went. Thomas watches them as well, glancing to Ky for a short moment then over to Charles, seeing how he was alone with three friends who were infected with the Flare.

Ky rested her head back, sniffling. “I love you”, she mumbles as Owe disappeared from her vision. Three words that he'll probably never hear from her. 


	25. PART 3, CHAPTER 11: Don't Tell Me If I'm Dying

“Breakfast!” Rose calls out, closing the waffle iron down on the chocolate batter and wandered over to the fridge to grab the butter, jam, and syrup for the kids.

It was a Saturday morning, nine o’clock, and the sun shined in through the window blinds which warmed up the kitchen and made the silver that laid on the counter shine fragments of light on the ceiling and walls. The clock on the wall made occasional ticks, counting down the seconds and mixing into the sound of the compact disc player that played “Yellow” by Coldplay. Rose’s favorite song.

Ricky and Deedee came on down the stairs, Deedee trying to push past her older brother of three years despite being eight. “Move, you butt for brains.”

“I was first, booger breath.” Ricky remarks, making it down first and scurried to the table happily. “Morning Mom! I hear that you’re listening to Coldplay CD again.”

Rose smiled, closing the fridge door and headed back to the waffle iron, hearing and seeing that the green light came on to notify her that it was ready. She opened it, grabbing the spatula and scooped the waffle onto the others, stacking them all up on a plate as Lucas and Liam came down the stairs with thudding steps since they had their boots on.

“Lucas, Liam, you boys playing Cops and Robbers again?”

“No, Hide and Seek.” Liam stated. “But I wish we were playing Cops and Robbers though, Carina’s too good at playing Hide and Seek. We just gave up on searching for her.”

“ _You did_.” Lucas corrected him, “I am still playing the game but my tummy’s rumbling for some waffles, eggs, and bacon.”

Liam pursed his lips, peering across the table at Ricky. “Where is she?”

“I have no clue.”

“Bullshark!”

“Woah,” Lee enters the dining room, pulling out his earphones, standing in blue gym shorts, running shoes, and a grey shirt that was drenched in sweat from his daily morning run. “What’s this talk about sharks?” He teases, rubbing his forehead to get rid of the moisture.

“The boys are playing Hide and Seek with Carina.” Rose looks to her husband as she rested the plate of waffles in the middle of the dinner table for the kids. “And she’s still hiding.”

“And Mom called out for breakfast and she still didn’t come out.” Ricky speaks up, grabbing a waffle to put on his own plate and began cutting it into its sections.

Lee chuckled, taking his seat at the head of the table where his plate and silverware awaited him along with a mug that contained milk tea and two sugar cubes as Rose brought the butter, jam, and syrup of different flavors over. “She’s dedicated, you’ve got to give her that.”

“She’s good at hiding; concealing herself.” Rose defends playfully with a smile, taking her own seat at the table. “People usually underestimate her because of it . . That is until she surprises them. Showing them just how significant she is.”

Liam gets up from the table, running to the cupboard and comes back with peanut butter. He sits down, taking his knife and spreads the peanut butter all over his waffle before grabbing a banana and cutting it into slices; placing them over the thick coat. Next is the maple and blueberry syrup, he pours it all over, grinning while Lucas eyed him with such disapproval.

“How are we even related?”

“Look in the mirror.” Liam shoots back, closing up the lid for the syrup and began cutting into his waffle to eat it.

Rose laughs at her boys, exchanging a look to Lee who was eyeing the smaller wooden chair that was next to him and the twins. It was where Carina sat. She still didn’t come out from her hiding spot and it worried him; Rose noticed, taking a small gander back to the kitchen at the cupboard that was below the sink before turning back.

“You boys have any idea where your one third is?” She asks, putting butter on her waffle with maple syrup.

“I have an idea.” Lucas pipes up smartly. “It’s probably a place where Deedee used to hide whenever she used to play with us. Which means she can be out in the treehouse or somewhere in the kitchen cupboards.”

Deedee listened in as Ricky began to talk, smiling and just ate her waffle naturally since it already had chocolate chips in it. “I’d check the treehouse first. She stays up there all the time reading. Probably why she didn’t hear Mom calling for us to come and eat, if she was inside, she would’ve.”

“Yes, sir.” Lucas nods, excusing himself from the table and yanked on the back of Liam’s shirt. “Come on, we’re getting our baby sister.”

“But I’m eating.” Liam whined, his cheeks filled.

“Family is first.” The two identical twins went out and Ricky ended up following, just in case they’d harm himself with climbing up the rope ladder like how they did a few times.

Deedee waited as they closed the sliding glass door and called out, “Mom, Dad, I sure hope that they find Carina. I need help with something and I know that she’d up for it.”

From under the sink, Carina opens the door, peeking out from overhearing Deedee and was intrigued. She smiled, her four year old body moving itself out easily from under and closed the cupboard door behind her. Her feet dashed across the tile, her pigtails bouncing with her trots as she got up into her chair next to Lee, eyeing her sister.

“What can I help you with, Teresa?” She giggled, using the nickname that she gave her.

Deedee just looked upon her little sister, her cheeks turning red from the pure love and adoration she felt for her family member. She opens her mouth, the softness in her voice saying something but it fades out as the sun’s ray moves in, flashing over Carina’s face and blinding her—

 

_“Ky!”_

Ky comes back to the present, seeing that her eyes were focusing on the street lamps buzzing lights. Her stare focuses forwards, landing on Charles who had black liquid seeping out of his mouth and dripping down his chin. His left pupil was fogged over, clouded white rather than being the supposed shade of black.

“We’re moving on out. Come on, you need to get up.”

She shakes her head. “No . . . No, I don’t want to. We can’t—we can’t make it, Charles. Okay, with everything that’s happening out there, we’re going to get hurt.”

“It’s worth it.” He began trying to lift Ky on up, but she tried to fight him off to the best of her ability. “Ky—”

“I don’t want to go! We still need Quinn.”

“Well we can’t get them if we’re here, Ky. We still need to move, not just stay here, alright?” The veins in his face pulsated, following a rhythm and Ky knew that she had to listen to him for his mental state.

She peers over to try and find Thomas and Newt but they had already left, trying to find a better place to stay away from the chaos that was happening. It was only her and Charles now; two people who were on the brink of completely turning, losing humanity, and becoming ruthless. Ky remembered how the full term Cranks acted with each other in the Scorch tunnel, they shoved each other with little to no regard. She didn’t want that for them.

Charles helps her up and she goes willingly, the both of them trying to make progress as they crossed the street and headed on over to where Charles had seen Thomas disappear to. During the escape, WCKD guards spotted them, yelling out and began shooting. Ky ducked down and Charles just scooped her up into his arms, bridal style, and charged back to where they were originally.

He suddenly lets out a yell, crashing down on the pavement and Ky rolls out of his grasp. She comes to a stop, lifting her head to see that he had been shot in the leg, bleeding out. “No, no.” Ky forces herself up, grabbing the hem of her tank top and forced a small rip in it to act like a bandage like how she seen Jess do before. “Charles, I’ll need your belt.” Slowly, he undoes his belt about to hand it to her but she tells him to make a tourniquet with it. He does.

“We can try again.” He huffs, his voice changing, sounding very different. “More of the crowd will come and fight them off, then we’ll be set to try and get closer to where the Berg landed.”

“Charles . .” Ky frowned, seeing how he grew worse. “You won’t be able to go out there. Not like . . .” She trailed off, not wanting to say it because if she did, there was no going back. There’s no chance to go back to how things were.

“Like a Crank.” Charles finished for her, nodding. “Yeah, you got a point there. But I’m going to get you out and safe. You can see Anne, James, Owe, Brenda, and the others again.”  

Ky lifted her eyes back up to him, processing what he just said and realized that she never got to see Anne again. She couldn’t even remember what they last spoke about six months ago. The only vivid thing she remembered was waking up in the room to see Anne right at her side with Quinn. But Anne was pushed off to the side as Ky then focused on another person who she left things unsettled with. Teresa.

“I need to see my sister.”

“Ky,” Charles gave a deadpan expression, “it took us this long to get here. We can’t go back to WCKD.”

“You don’t understand,” Ky shook her head, becoming worried. “I need her to know that . . . She was right. I don’t want to die and have her believe that I hated her guts because I don’t. I need to make things right with her.”

Charles grumbled, thinking to himself about the objective that was at play here and nods. “Fine. We’ll go.”

“Thank you.” The two infected Islers get themselves up once more, this time backtracking to where they had come from. And it was a cake walk.

The crowd had moved on, leaving the streets only in ruins and smoke. Ky supported Charles, them stepping through the place and turning corners with caution. They ended up heading down the one street, entering the one block and Ky wasn’t paying attention with something bumped into her. She turned back around, seeing a shoe hanging down in front of her line of vision and it was attached to a leg. Her eyes traveled up more, seeing a waist, then a torso, and lastly a head.

Ky shuddered, stumbling back to see that a WCKD guard was hanging lifelessly; strung up on a lamp post. She then hit something from the back, twirling herself around to see another hanging but this one was hung on the plotted tree. Charles wheezed, coughing and stared down the whole street, seeing bodies that were hanging everywhere like Christmas decorations.

“The hell were they thinking?” He mutters, wiping the black goo off with the side of his hand as his damp bangs hung in front of his sweaty forehead.

Ky eyes a WCKD sign off to the left, peering over to see a bloody handprint on it; smeared. “They’re getting more violent. Tapping into that inner rage.” Her eyes tear away from the mark to look to Charles. “We’re going to need to get off these streets. WCKD won’t be the only ones for us to be worried about.”

“You’re right.” He nods, clearing his throat to try and not sound so hoarse. “Come on, we’ll need to hurry.”

Ky goes back to his side, swinging his arm over her shoulder and walked through the dangling bodies of those who were just living moments ago.

 

The Berg lands safely, the cargo hold opening up while Jorge, Brenda, Anne, Micky, James, Lucas, and Lee ran down the ramp and to keep their eyes peeled for the missing ones. As soon as they got out, an explosion went off right near them and they all covered their heads, ducking down. They all straighten themselves out, gazing around to see everything burning and being torn down. Lee had to personally wrap his brain around the fact that this place used to be his home before the sun flares had happened.

“Oh, man.” Jorge tisks. “We can’t stay here, Bren.”

“Don’t worry. They’ll be here.” She responds.

Lucas held tightly onto James’s hand, feeling like his head was about to burst from pressure and knew it was because of his link to Ky. He could feel exactly what she was feeling, that’s how he knew how much time was left before Ky would be gone forever. He kept hopeful while James just kept on apologizing to him, sorry that Ky was in trouble and that he wasn’t with her in this time. Lucas had told him that it was fine, and it was, it wasn’t James’s fault that he left her behind. The only thing that he was concerned with was not knowing if he’d see his other twin again or not. And if she’ll be dead or alive during it.

More explosions go off in the far off distance and Lee began tapping his foot, growing impatient. “We can’t just wait here for them. In war, whenever someone needed us, we went for them.”

Jorge eyed him sadly. “I understand where you’re coming from, Lee. But we have no idea where they are right now.”

“Brenda said that Thomas has a walkie talkie, right? So we call and ask. It’s simple.”

“Dad!”

Lee tears himself away from Jorge, seeing his son along with his old pal Ben Rogers and his son Nathan. He goes into a full sprint, calling out for his eldest and hugged him tightly once they meet in the middle. He hold him tight and proper, patting his back and lets him go before nodding to Nathan and especially Ben.

“What are you doing here, Murph?”

“My daughter, Carina, we were on our way to the safe haven and in the morning, I awoke to find her and others missing. She was determined to get back her friends from here. I didn’t think she would do it, but of course, she thrives.”

“She gets that from you.” Ben tells him, being honest. Lee was about to interject but he stops him, “You were like that too when we went to school together. Whenever someone said that you couldn’t do something, you had to prove them wrong out of spite. And when you couldn’t do something, you always tried to figure another way out. You still do.”

“Dad,” Ricky spoke up, looking down at his tablet and programmed a few things in order. “I tried to find Ky from the drone, doing scans all over the city but, her chip hasn’t picked up.”

James overheard Ricky, releasing Lucas’s hand and ran his fingers back through his hair in frustration. “Shit.” Lee, Ricky, and the others look at him. “She got her chip removed from Teresa. That’s why you can’t find her on the radar.”

“Thomas, Gally, and Newt got theirs taken out too.” Brenda furrowed her brows.

Anne then thought it through. “What about Minho? We still have our chips in from WCKD. No one ever took them out. You can find Ky by finding Minho.”

Ricky grinned, stepping over and platonically kissed the top of her head as he cupped her cheeks. “You brilliant little clementine.” Anne smiles wide, glad that she could help out and watched as he went to work with ordering the drone to pick up on Minho’s signal.

In an instant, the Public Announcement system was turned on and everyone paused, listening in as raised their heads towards the huge WCKD screen that was up over on the one building, displaying a message that said that there was an emergency broadcast in progress.

_“Thomas?”_

A female voice echos out from all over. Lee, Lucas, and Ricky all take steps forwards, them all knowing that it was Teresa. Their hearts seemingly to form as one and beat like a drum, feeling heavy in their chests.

 _“Can you hear me?”_ A pause. _“I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to come back. Thomas, you can save Newt. There’s still time for him . . . And there’s still time for Ky.”_

Lee darted his eyes to Ricky, seeing him being confused just as much as he was. He went back to gazing up at the board, Teresa continuing on.

_“There’s a reason Brenda isn’t sick anymore. It’s your blood. Do you understand?”_

Jorge drops his eyes, looking down at Brenda who stood directly besides me, her attention completely on the speaker.

_“She isn’t sick because . . . Because you cured her.”_

And finally, the truth had been set free. All this time, Brenda felt so much weight on her shoulders, worrying when she’d go back to being infected but with this, she no longer had to prepare for the worst. She was cured and that meant that she would be okay, that she can live the rest of her days in the safe haven. Brenda meets Jorge’s gaze, taking in a breath of fresh air, allowing herself to calm down and feel as if nothing else could harm her.

 _“She doesn’t have to be the only one. All you have to do is come back. And this will all finally be over.”_ Another moment of silence. _“Please.”_ Teresa begs. _“Just come back to me. I know you’ll do the right—”_

The system cuts out, the screens glitching and the lights that were all around them shut off before plunging them all straight into the sounds of gunfire that went off in the distance. The emergency lights came on, having everyone just stunned from the information that they just received from Teresa.

“Thomas can save Ky.” Ricky readied his tablet, getting a reading on where Minho was. “Got it!” He exclaims, laughing victoriously.

“Where are they?” Brenda asks him.

“From this, they should be . . . Here?”

Sure enough, over by the steps, Owe, Minho, and Gally run up with huffs as another explosion goes off in the back. “Brenda!” Minho shouts, them all turning just to see the three boys. “Where’s the serum?!”

“Jake!” Ben calls out to his son, running over and places himself into a tight hug. Nathan does the same. “Glad you’re alright.”

Owe shakes his head. “No . . I’m not alright. Ky, she’s turning and she’s getting weaker but Thomas, Thomas can cure her! He’s with her now! He can save her!”

“Ky is with Thomas? You sure?” Lee had charged up next to group, listening to what Owe was saying.

Owe nods. “Yeah! Charles, too. We were told to run ahead to grab the serum for them.” He explains, catching sight of Brenda, Gally, Minho, and even Frypan running back to where they had came from with the serums in their hands. Owe goes to break with them but Nathan stops him. “Get off of me.”  
“You need to stay here and get on that Berg.”

He shakes his head. “I gotta go back.”

“Jake, that’s not going to work out.” Nathan tries to tell him but he refuses to listen.

“No, Nate, I have to go back.” His voice raised.

His father then spoke. “If any WCKD guard finds you while you’re on that street, especially under Janson’s orders, they’ll—”

“I just can’t leave Ky in there!” Owe shouts, making his argument known.

“And I can’t lose my son!” Ben eyes him. “I’m sorry but, I can’t. Your heart can’t take it, you know that. And finding Ky, Jake, if you find her . . . You have no idea what you’ll find and I don’t want you to see that. That’s probably why she had you leave. She wanted to spare you from seeing what she was becoming.” He huffs, feeling bad for yelling but his son needed to hear it. “We’re going to get on Ricky’s Berg and leave—”

“You have a Berg?” Lee faces his son who began reprogramming his tablet to search for facial recognition for Ky.

He nods. “Stole it from WCKD but yeah, I got my own Berg. We were on our way to it but we seen yours flying overhead and the code on the side was the exact same one that we were missing from days ago. I knew it had to be you guys.”

“Where is it?”

“I hid it out behind my apartment complex, it’s locked up so no one can get in except for me.”

“I have an idea.” Lee nods, sprinting on over to Jorge, Diego, Vince, the Islers, and the Immunes. “Diego, Ricky has another Berg. We can use it to get Carina and Charles while Jorge and Vince takes this one back to the Hideout and loads the Immunes up on the ship.”

“If you’re going to get Ky, I want to come with.” Anne states.

“Micky and I, too.” James adds on.

Lee eyes the three willing Islers. “You three understand that we’re going to have to travel through the city to get to the Berg?”

“Ky never gave up on us.” Anne eyes Lee. “So we’re not going to give up on her.”

“Let’s get ready then.”

A few minutes had passed when Lucas noticed movement over in the corner of his eye. He gazes over, standing up straight to see how Minho and Frypan carried Newt’s lifeless body while Gally was trying his best to comfort Brenda who still held onto three serums tightly. Tears stained her cheeks, her eyes glistening and she hands shook ever so slightly.

Micky lifts her head, sensing them and upon seeing Newt, she lost it. They had became such good friends that seeing him dead was unreal. Anne pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back while Minho and Frypan loaded him up into the back of the Berg before covering his body with a jacket.

“What happened?” James questions in a kind manner.

“I was too late.” Brenda sniffled. “Thomas was leaning over his body, he just looked so miserable and I . . . I just wasn’t fast enough.” Gally went back to comforting her. “And Thomas left.”

“Left?” Lucas then asks. “What you mean by that?”

“Picked up a gun, and turned around, leaving.” Brenda gulped.

That’s when it dawns on Lucas. “He went back to WCKD.” He thinks it through even more. “And that’s where Ky’s at. I can feel it. And we need to get to her, now.”

Instantly, Lucas felt himself feel pain in his side which sent him down in a flinch, holding where the pain was radiating. “Luke?” James dives down next to him, checking him out to make sure that he was okay. “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s going on with Ky . . She’s hurting. We don’t have much time.”

Lee, Anne, James, Micky, Lucas, and Diego were joined by Gally and Minho, them all running off with Ricky leading. The group heading down the one pair of stairs and off to the right where Ricky’s apartment was located. It wasn’t that far off, but it certainly wasn’t close.

Vince started the Berg up, closing the cargo hold to take off. In the back with the Immunes, Frypan, Jorge, and Brenda were all sitting together in silence. Owe was across from them with his father, older brother, and Dean, clutching to his locket and opened it back up to see the picture of their family. Mary, Adelaide, Nathan, Ben, him, and his two little brothers. He felt the Berg lift high into the air and Ben leaned over, seeing the family picture and it made him smile.

“I remember when we took that picture. It was a few weeks before you were placed into WCKD. Adelaide won’t keep still so we promised her ice cream afterwards and she glued herself into place. Grayson and Alex kept giving each other bunny ears, giggling at every second while the rest of us just kept smiling.”

Owe smiles, glad to know that their family wasn’t always in such a rut from what he has remembered from his simulation. And now, he had learned the names of his little brothers finally. Grayson and Alex. He imagined that Alex was the older one while Grayson was the youngest. For a short moment, he closes his eyes, trying to think back to those good days and how they used to be. Having little to no care, still being young and free, able to have joy and not worry about it being taken away from you in a moment.

“Owe.” Brenda takes small steps over to him, holding out her walkie talkie and motions for him to take it. “Someone wants to talk you.”

He takes it carefully out of her grasp after closing up his locket, lifting the end of the walkie to his lips and pressing down on the button to speak. “Hello?” The tone of his voice being earnest as he was wondering who could be waiting to phone him while he was being shipped away from the Last City. He half expected it to be Ricky but he was wrong.

_“Owe. You there?”_

His heart swells and he sit up higher, having heard Ky’s weak voice speaking in from the other end. Tears automatically made their way to his ducts, threatening to spill over just to hear her sweet, husked words again.

Owe’s thumb hovers the button for a good two seconds before pressing it down completely. “K-Ky?”

Silence.

“Ky? You still with me?” He now began to shake, his mind searching through all the possibilities as to why she wasn’t responding to him. “You still with me, Ky?”

 _“I told you, I’m always with you.”_ She finally dispatches back and Owe feels himself breathe again.

“Ky, where . . Where are you?”

 _“. . . Charles turned . . . And I couldn’t stop it.”_ She began weeping, her nose sounding stuffy as she coughed up flem. _“I couldn’t help him, Owe. I couldn’t.”_

“Ky, where are you?” He repeats again, his body trembling. “Please, just . . Tell me where you are, okay?”  

She was silent for a moment. _“Do you remember the night when we looked at the stars in the Isle? When Anne was the newest misfit?”_

Owe thinks back to that night. Ky was telling him how she saved Anne from drowning, and how she had a new perspective about their life in the Isle. That was when she looked up to the sky, seeing the small white specks that twinkled in perfect patterns and were harmonized in the wide, blue opened landscape. That’s when it all changed for him. That was when he knew that he liked her a whole lot more.

“Course I do. How could I forget?”

_“You just kept on looking at Pyxis, thinking that it was Orion’s Belt. I didn’t have the heart to tell you that you were wrong.”_

“You should’ve told me, I must’ve looked like a real idiot.” Owe softly jokes, hoping that it’d put a smile on her face from hearing it. His throat dries out, words going stale. “Well, you can teach me about all of them after you get better. Because you will.”

She just continued on. _“You instantly fell in love with the one constellation that was near it . . . The big one that looked like a jellyfish.”_ She cracked a small whimper with a hum. _“I never told you what it was.”_ Ky grows quiet, the sounds of guns firing and explosions in the back booming through the line. _“It’s what my dad named me after. Carina. Which means the kneel of a ship.”_

Owe gripped the walkie tighter. “Now it makes sense . . . Why I fell in love with it.”

Things die down again, neither of them saying anything. He releases his tears, letting them drop and soak into his already damped clothes. He wondered if it was because he was a little too straight forward but he didn’t mind, he wanted Ky to hear it at least once before . . .

The walkie talkie comes back to life and he froze, awaiting for what she had to say.

_“Owe . . . I don’t want you to wait on me for coming back. I refuse to let you suffer like that.”_

“What are you saying?” He knew exactly what she was saying, he just didn’t want to hear it.

On the other end, he could hear her taking in a shaky breath, mustering up the words that she needed to speak without trying to completely break apart. _“I’m saying that I just . . . I don’t want your life to stop because of me . .”_

“Ky, please,”

_“Just remember me from that night, being happy, sitting under the sky and pointing out constellations. Remember me like that—exactly like that.”_

The walkie talkie cuts off, no more noise comes in and Owe drops his head. His grief overtook him and Ben took him under his arm, holding his son close, right into his chest. His heart began beating heavily, weighing itself down, threatening to detached from the heart strings and spill right into his stomach.

Owe’s fingers clutch onto his father’s arms, his body shivering with every sob that he took. “I lost her . . I lost her. I lost her for good. I can’t—I can’t. Dad . . .” He wails in a murmur, his voice breaking with everything that he was saying.

Ben couldn’t do much but just hold his son, letting him know what he wasn’t alone.

 

Ricky snakes around the corner, seeing his apartment and how the surrounding area was clear of patrol, Cranks, and damage. He leads the group over to where the fence that was by his home, opening up a faulty spot and had his dad and brother go in who were then followed by Diego and Gally. Micky was given the tablet of Ricky’s, the drone still searching for any trace of Ky but nothing had came up. She sighs, passing it over Minho as he then went through the fence.

Over on her right, she heard a few shotguns that came from nearby, seeing a few Cranks charging at WCKD guards and seen a familiar face. “Quinn?” She mumbles, making sure that it was actually them before jetting down the street. “Quinn!”

Anne sees her go and chases her down, shouting after. James watched, concerned about his two friends but glanced back to see Lucas and the others still continuing on to their passage towards the Berg. He makes a quick call, going after the two girls, sprinting as fast as he could.

He meets up with Anne, the both of them traveling over to see Micky being pinned up against the wall; her arm twisted behind her and her face was smashed against the one brick wall. Quinn held a Launcher in their left hand, aiming the end of the barrel into the bottom of Micky’s spine.

“Where is she?” Quinn demands, them coughing horribly, their one pupil was dilated in the right eye. “Where the muck is Anne, Mika!” They screamed, using Micky’s real name. “Tell me. Tell me now or so help me, I’ll load these muckin’ darts into your spine until you and your brain fry!”

“Quinn!” Anne shouts to them, baffled by how much they changed.

They backed themselves away from Micky, letting her go and rotates their head to land eyes on Anne. They instantly go back to being civil, human. Quinn runs on over, gasping and hugs her tightly. “Anne . . . You’re alive. My god, you’re okay.”

“I am.” Anne hugged them back, lighty smiling and releases them. “The hell were you thinking? Hurting Micky?”

“Sorry, it’s just, the Flare. It feels like vines are wrapping themselves around my brain repeatedly, getting tighter and tighter to the point that it hurts so much that to make it stop, causing harm to others eases it.”

Anne frowns, cupping their cheeks and tenderly leans in, kissing them on the lips softly. She holds it for a moment, pulling away. “Did that help?”

Quinn smiles widely, a toothy grin really. They peck her back. “Yeah. Glad I have you back.”

James them got an idea. “Quinn, you have any idea where Ky and Charles is?”

They eye the three Islers for a moment, speaking rather silently. “Charles turned. I seen him a while ago leaving the one street that we destroyed but he was alone, lurching on the prowl for something to ravish.”

“What street?”

“The one by WCKD’s main entrance.” Quinn then noticed how James changed in an instant. “Why, what’s wrong?”

“Lucas was right.” James mumbles, turning to the direction of where the WCKD building was. “Ky went back to see Teresa. We need to get her now.”

Micky then shook her flabbergasted. “No. We need to go back to Ricky and them because of the Berg! Then, we can get Ky. That’s the most logical thing to do.”

“Guys,” Anne warns, seeing WCKD guards approaching but James and Micky kept on arguing, not hearing her until it was too late.

Shots sounded and the four all crouch, trying to run and Quinn re-grabs the Launcher, firing it off, hitting three men while the other two kept on aiming at them. Quinn yells for the Islers to run down the street and they do. James, Micky, and Anne faced down, breathing heavily as they headed near the WCKD building and Quinn went right after them. The gang just ran and ran until they couldn’t feel their feet and their throats were throbbing, feeling hollow and cold.

“Think we lost them?” Anne huffed, hunching over, resting her hands on her knees.

James glances back. “Yeah. For a bit, we’re still in trouble. They seen us, especially you in your Immune outfit. Won’t be long before—” he stops speaking in an instant, seeing how was holding the side of her neck while liquid ran down her arm, dripping down her elbow and onto the ground.

Anne hears the small pitter patters, looking to Micky who looked drained and very pale in the face. “Micky?”

Her body gives off, her falling onto the ground and Anne rushes over, picking her up in her arms and stared down at her. Micky’s hand was covered in blood; one of the bullets skimmed in, piercing her major artery and sinked her straight into the ocean. Anne cradles her head, making sure to be careful as Micky just focused on the starry sky.

“You t-think, Sapph was right? About us going back to being stars?”

Anne teared up, seeing how Quinn turned away from the sight while James just kneeled besides her and held Micky’s good hand. “Yeah . . . I think she’s waiting for us with that big grin.”

“I’ll t-tell her that y-you said hi.” She coughs, blood spewing up on her lips and cheeks. “Tell Cass, I did what I could.”

“Of course.” Anne nods, gulping and wiped the spots of blood from her face. “The world is going to be a darker place without you, Micky.” She sniffles.

Micky weakly shakes her head from side to side, voice croaking. “At least it still has you. My family.” Her eyes were still fixed on the horizon, a chilly breeze blowing through the city which smelled of melted paint and scorched wood. “I’m going home.”

And slowly, just as it began, her breathing came to a gentle stop. Her hand falls, hitting the ground and the rest of the blood drain from her wound. Anne cried while James took his hand away from hers and up to her eyelids, closing them so she could rest in peace.

“Emma,” James focuses on Anne, using her real name. “We have to go.”

“B-But, Mika . . .”

“I know. But we have to go. We still need Ky, remember?”

Anne gently placed Micky’s head off her lap, standing up and looked to James. “We can’t just leave her here.”

“I don’t think we have a choice.” James frowned, hearing the WCKD guards coming near them. “Emma?” He holds his hand out to her and she reluctantly takes it.

Quinn, James, and her, all heading straight for the building.


	26. PART 3, CHAPTER 12: Arctic

Teresa stood out in the lobby of WCKD, staring out at the city that was being damaged from left to right. She seen a Berg leaving the area and another falling down from behind hit by a bazooka, spiraling out of control before crashing straight into the town square. Teresa kept on guard, her eyes peeled out for Thomas, still holding onto her hope. She knew him better than anyone else, she knew that he would arrive—especially if it meant he could save Newt and that Teresa could finally save Ky after all this time.

Ava appears next to her, standing and stares out as another explosion goes off and the roar of the crowd from outside traveled in through the glass structure. Sadly, she turns to the twenty-one year old. “We can’t wait any longer.”

“He’ll be here.”

A WCKD Red Shirt came down the non working escalators that just became a flight of stairs, heading up to the two women. “M’am,” he nods to Ava, “the last transport is leaving in ten minutes.”

She looks at Teresa, seeing her still keeping her attention to the scene outside. Ava gently nudges her. “Grab your research and meet me on the roof.” Teresa doesn’t break away, she just still stays in place, feeling helpless. “Please, go—”

“Teresa.”

She and Ava peer over, seeing Ky who was staggering with a hand resting over her stomach that felt like it was in knots. Teresa’s eyes landed on the soaked blood spot on her shirt, rushing over to her little sister and tried to check for a wound. Ky politely batted her hands away, her head feeling weary along with the rest of her body that ached.

“I’m fine, I’m okay.”

“You’re not fine.” Teresa shakes her head, going to check again and hurried with doing so so Ky couldn’t intervene.

She had a slit on her abdominal, measuring about four inches in length. That’s all that it was. Just a slit below the belly button, lateral to midline. It appeared that someone tried to slice Ky open with the intention of serious harm but she moved quickly, the knife just grazing her by an inch which caused the layers of skin to be broken and spew blood.  

“I can help you.” The bigger sister nods then wondered, “Did Thomas come with you?” Teresa questioned, supporting her sister up who was panting heavily.

Ky shakes her head. “No, I . . I came by myself. I just . . I wanted to see you before . . .” She coughs, losing her breath and stumbles over but Teresa catches her. “I just wanted . . .”

“Don’t waste your energy, alright? I can help you. We can fix this.” Teresa then directed her on over to the broken down escalators, the Red Shirt following after with his Launcher at the ready, just in case.

Ava seen Teresa take her ill sister up the stairs, them taking a left down the one hall, making way for the emergency elevators that ran on generators. Once out of sight, out of mind, Ava went back to staring out at the demolition of everything. The day had finally came when everything they built had tumbled down, and she accepted it. She had been waiting for a long while and she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t happy that it finally did.

On her left, she seen movement and gazed to see Thomas standing there and holding a gun that he cocks, finger hovering the trigger. He raises it up high, firm grip on it as he pointed it straight at her. The explosions going off in the distance were the only sounds that were being made. Ava slowly turns, letting him know that he had her full attention and that she was ready to fill him in on everything; not wanting to pose as a threat anymore.

“Is it true?” His voice is soft and his eyes were filled with freshly made tears, still sliding down his cheeks as his hand that held the pistol shook. Ava was concerned by what he was asking, so he adds on, “Newt. Could I have saved him?”

 _Could_ , _have_ , and _saved_ were all key factors; Ava understood. It was too late for Newt, he had been taken over by the Flare so the cure for him was out of the question. But there was still time for Ky who was now upstairs, possibly getting her wound treated by Teresa before packing up her things to leave.

“You can save us all.” Ava replied in the same tone that Thomas had, nodding. Thomas held the gun tighter, his fist fidgeting more than before as he licked his lips that began to tremble. Before Ava knew it, Thomas dropped the gun, his head hanging low. Sobs came out and she frowned, strolling up to the boy that she had known for years now. “It’s okay.”

He sniffles, lifting up his head and gulped. “Just leave the others alone.”

Ava sadly nodded—she’ll respect his wishes, it was the least she could do as it would be his dying wish. Once he was hooked up to the machines, placed under, he’ll never be waking up again.

“I promise.” She tells him, mustering up a sad smile. “I will—”

A gunshot cut through the air, startling Thomas for a moment but his emotions were already in turmoil that the whole suddenness of it left him in shock. His eyes just locked on Ava’s as she was paralyzed, grunting and trying to speak. She reached out to him as her body began shutting down on her, falling towards the hard floor of the building. Thomas tried to catch her but with him being numb, he just let her go.

Thomas then focused forwards, seeing Janson wielding his pistol and stepping through the smoke that the shot had created from the powerful kick. Janson drew closer and Thomas just stood in place, not moving as the end of Janson’s gun found its way to his chest. His light brown eyes shifted up into Janson’s, them both seeing eye to eye. Janson looked sinister, holding a creepy smirk that shook Thomas to the bone but he tried to keep up a hard exterior to not show just how broken he really was.

In a snake-like reflex, Janson lifted his left hand that held a small needle, stabbing it straight into Thomas’s major artery that was in his neck. Thomas stumbled back with a few steps, coughing and pulled out the small needle that looked like a push pin. Within a few seconds, he began feeling drowsy to the point that his body slanted off to the side and he hummed sadly before collapsing with a thud. He had been drugged with some type of medicine; Thomas knew that he had a limited amount of conscious time.

Above him, Janson stood with the gun still aimed at him, his breathing strenuous as if it was hard for him to even take breaths. He seen how Thomas began reaching for his gun that he dropped earlier but he reached out his foot, kicking it away from the boy. “Oh, Thomas.” He huskily muttered. “You should have run.”

Thomas’s vision hazed in and out as his head turned away from Janson, resting against the floor to see Ava’s dead body right next to him; her dead eyes were trained on him as blood from underneath her pooled. His eyes grew heavy and they fell close.

 

With a left and a few rights, Quinn, James, and Anne hurried through the streets to get to the WCKD building. Anne felt her body shaking, twisting at the thought of going back in there but ignored it for the sake of saving Ky and possibly even Thomas. She kept checking up on Quinn, seeing how they were doing every step they took. Quinn shrugged off her worries, powering through and even threw up a few times. Anne told James that they needed to come to a stop, to give Quinn a deserved moment of rest. He listened, the three of them setting base by a junk car that was parked on the sidewalk.

The distant calls of nearby Cranks sounded and James could also hear the WCKD guards that had been following them all this time, huffing and trying to sort out a plan but nothing good was coming up. Quinn watched as he looked lost, placing their hand into their leather jacket and felt the small explosives that resided in the pockets. They may have been small but Quinn seen the damage that they could do; Lawrence’s right hand man, whatever his name was, he created them and displayed their power to the gang before leaving the Crank Palace. One alone made a house explode and crumble inwards on itself. Quinn had four.

The guards made their way up, Anne peeked over the hood, noting six men and ducked back down. _They must’ve recruited four more with their dispatches,_ she thought to herself.

“What are going to do now? There’s six of them.” Anne glanced to James and Quinn.

“I have an idea.” Quinn remarks, dark eyes resting upon the building that was in front of them. “I just don’t think you’re gonna like it.” Their grip on the explosives were secure while the plan made way through the inner workings of their brain.

“Quinn, if it’s the something like the plan you had in Isle, I swear . . .”

They smirk. “You know me too well.”

“Quinn, please, don’t.” Anne begged.

“It’ll give you and James enough time to continue towards the headquarters. I’ll just loop them into the building, set up a few bombs that the Cranks gave me, weasel on out and set them off.”

Anne frowned, trying to think rationally while James took Quinn off to the side. “Quinn,” he says in a bare whisper, “that’s not a good idea. Buildings like that only have one exit—the front door.”

“Undoubtedly.”

That’s when it clicked. “You’re not planning on coming back.”

“I don’t want to spend the rest of my days delaying the Flare by taking the serum.” Quinn states, shaking their head.

James furrowed his brow. “Thomas is the cure. You can be cured, just like Brenda.”

Quinn mustered a small chuckle. “You know, for someone who grew up in WCKD and tasked to double-cross us, you really are the best of them.” There was a pause. “I made my peace with dying a long time ago, I just tried living for Anne . . . But this,”—they slipped their one arm out of the sleeve, showing James the veins that were crossing and winding all about—“this isn’t living. It’s surviving. And with the cure, I’ll be a survivor . . . And I can’t live with knowing that I was spared while Sapph, Charles, and others have died and suffered from the Flare.”

He was taken back, never have thought of it like that. Quinn made their point. To have be saved by a cure while friends have died and even turned, not having a chance at a normal life? It’d be horrible to have that type of guilt.

James nods, giving Quinn’s hand a shake and crawled over to Anne who kept on glancing back at the WCKD guards that were peering around the area. Anne turned to him, feeling herself getting worried and faced Quinn to be met with a kiss by them. It was pressed yet tender, rushed but still considerate. A small whimper stirred in the back of her throat making Quinn pull away, leaving her lips tingle from the lack of contact.

“I love you.” Quinn nods to her, one last time. “Time to kick ass.”

James took Anne’s hand, witnessing Quinn standing straight up and moseying on out from behind the car to face the guards with an opening liner of, “I’m just gonna head down the road—be mature and shit all by myself over here.” The guards all readied their guns, shouting to Quinn as they sprinted themselves straight into building. That’s when he took the moment to run with Anne.

Inside of the building, Quinn made way for the staircase, trekking up the metal casing as fast as they could up to the fourteenth floor, hearing their own heartbeat beating in their ears. They quickly stopped, gasping for air as their throat felt cold and legs ached. In the stairwell, Quinn could hear even the guards slowing down from the many steps; they were taking every signal one up whereas Quinn skipped two to three at a time to distance themselves. It was certainly a challenge. But Quinn managed since the virus was taking over, supplying their body with energy that relished in the fact that it was being pressed; strained to the point of developing quicker.  

 _Only six flights to go,_ Quinn mentally thought as they took out one of the explosives, opening the door to the floor and tossed it on in before continuing up onto the sixteenth floor, throwing one in that one too.

The third explosive was chucked into floor eighteen, Quinn making way to the top floor twenty and bursting through the door with determination and shaky legs. They wobble over into the wall, coughing up more black goo and didn’t even bother wiping off their chin. Their eyes peered out the one window, seeing the WCKD building, untouched by the chaos, and hoped that Ky was in a better predicament than them.

Quinn’s eyes then spotted the fire that was spreading around from the Cranks, getting hypnotized by it and began losing themselves like a moth being attracted to a flame. It put them in a calm state for a brief moment until they shook their head, trying to snap out of their trance. They had an important job, and they’ll be damned if they ruined it.

Slowly but surely, they made way over to the one wall and sat down right in front of it; leaning their head back and closed their eyes for a moment. With the last explosive in hand, Quinn waited and began to think about their incoming death. Now, Quinn wasn’t one to believe that there was something in the great and far beyond but just this once, they hoped that the friendly faces of the Islers that had died awaited them with kind smiles and comforting hugs.

“Up here! Go! Go!” A guard shouts.

Quinn’s heavy eyes open to see the six men surrounding them, weapons drawn and aimed though they weren’t doing anything except for sitting. Straightening out their back, sitting up from slouching, a small grin grows on their face followed by a haughty chuckle that made the leader of the group scowl. His pointer finger hovers over the trigger.

“A Crank.” He announces to his peers, eyeing the sickly skin of Quinn’s face and the Isler’s eyes that were bloodshot and beginning to shift to complete blackness. “This one won’t be hard to dispose of. Be as easy as taking out the trash.”

“How ironic,” Quinn chuckles with the last ounce of humanity that was left within them, taking out the detonator for the explosives. “I was just about to do the same thing.” The look of horror that appeared on their faces was the last that Quinn would ever see as their thumb came down on the button.

In the streets as James and Anne ran, they heard the top floors of the building explode in flickers of white. Anne whipped her head around fast, seeing the fourteenth floor collapsing first then the ones that were above it. She screamed out for Quinn in horror, James holding her back and up as hot tears poured from her eyes and her body lost function from the grief that struck her. Sadly, James just pressed her on, tearing his sight away from the building. The both of them running to the headquarters.

The building came crumbling down in dust and rock, mixing in with the fire and other torn down structures that the Cranks destroyed. The noise of it awoke Thomas, his vision blurry and lolling up towards the ceiling then off to the left. There Teresa stood with a needle in his arm, collecting blood in order to make a cure. His eyes shift down, past her to see that Ky was over on the other side of the room, sitting against the wall; cuffed. Her skin was pale, the veins were prominent, the bags under her eyes were dark half circles. Thomas also noticed the slash and soaked blood on her white tank top, panic raising in him but it subsided because she is Teresa’s sister after all. Ky being infected was the major reason for her finding a cure, he knew that as plain as day now.

“Do you know what this place is, Thomas?” Janson’s voice rings from behind him since he was staring out the huge bay window. Thomas lifts back his head, seeing the older man gazing down at him. “It’s a lifeboat. And the whole world might be sinking but doesn’t mean that we have to go down with it.” Teresa left Thomas’s side, heading over to the table to being making a serum.

From this, Thomas made the small notion to peer down at his body, seeing that he was in a five point restraint; his wrists, ankles, and waist held down with straps. He groaned, trying to move around but it was no use, he was stuck in place. Thomas immediately darted eyes over to see Janson strolling past, scanning Ky with his eyes and it made Thomas’s blood boil. What _exactly_ was Janson’s game here?

“How much longer?”

“It’s almost done.” Teresa responds to Janson.

Thomas’s chest raised slowly and fell fast, his eyes finding Janson’s as he rotated himself around to stand and stare at him. “Why don’t you just kill me?”

“Kill you?” Janson shook his head. “No, we don’t wanna do that. We’re gonna take special care of you.” He remarks, stepping closer to Thomas. We’ll keep you alive.” Thomas tries to lurch forwards, determined to try and attack the older man but his straps kept him grounded, making him grunt. “Just in return, you will give life to the rest of us.”

Thomas’s eyes fall, landing over on Ky again who began shutting her tired eyes. Her body slouched and it got to the point that she began breathing out of her mouth since her nose was getting clogged. Her clock was ticking down and he felt his body grow still again; he’d be willing to save her—to give her a second chance at living.

Janson followed Thomas’s line of sight and snickered. “The ones we choose to save, anyway.” That statement promptly brought Thomas back to the conversation, watching as Janson grabbed the serum injector, pressing the button to bring it to life. “Of course, there’s not gonna be enough for everyone. Hard choices are gonna have to be made.”

Janson stepped back, heading up behind Teresa as she finally had created the serum, placing it into a glass cartage. Thomas sneered, growing furious at Janson and tried even harder to escape his confinement, letting out yells.

“In time, the Flare virus will burn itself out. The only question is, who will be the ones left standing?” Janson takes the serum from Teresa and she gave him a look, not believing what he was doing as he went back to Thomas. “And thanks to you, to this, we finally get to choose. A future of our own making.”

Teresa felt herself getting vengeful, staring at her sister who was dying by the second while he inserted the serum into the injector. Janson was right, they finally get to choose to can survive, and Teresa already planned on one making it through the night. Actually it wasn’t even a plan, but a _promise_.

Thomas watched as Janson yanked up his left sleeve, revealing his veiny forearm and slowly lingered his stare up to the man’s face. He readied the injector above his infected arm and nods to the Immune. “To your health.”

From behind, Teresa came up with a glass beaker, breaking it over Janson’s head which knocked him out cold. Thomas flinched away, hiding his face and turned back, seeing Teresa staring at him in awe of what she just did. A small smile flashes across her lips and she gets down, grabbing the injector. She gets back up, starting to undo Thomas’s cuffs.

“Okay, let’s get out of here.” Teresa then began struggling, trying to get them off with grunts of effort and looked to Thomas who was kinda skeptical. “Come on.” She urged him on. “Ky doesn’t have much time.”

Thomas darts his stare back over to the girl, seeing her gasping for air like how Newt did before and that brought him to his senses. He began moving, wiggling his right wrist around so Teresa had some leverage in prying the belt off. She finally got it off, extending back up and seen a figure directly behind her. Teresa focused, the person was Janson and he instantly grabbed her by the hair as she screamed.

“No!” Thomas shouted, trying to reach to help but Janson toss her over the lab table as if she were a rag doll. Glass containers broke, hitting the floor and the ruckus brought Ky out of her stupor, seeing her sister hit the tile only a few feet away from her.

Teresa quickly recovered, the serum injector still in her left hand as she began crawling across the floor, away from Janson as he chased after. “Get back here.” He grumbled, rerouting around the other side of where Teresa was going but she changed direction; going back to where she previously was. “Get back!”

Janson bent down, grabbing her ankles. “No!” She squirmed, trying to find something to hold onto but he pulled her back towards him which caused her to flip over onto her back.

“Give it to me.” He ordered, dropping her legs and rushed down, lifting her up and tugged on the back of her head with his right while his left held her wrist that clutched onto the serum. Teresa thrashed about, trying to get him off but his Crank strength came into play as he grew aggressive. “Give it to me!” Janson grabbed the back of her skull, shoving her down with an incredible amount of force, whacking her head off the metal table. Her body went limp as she was now the one who was unconscious, falling to the floor as Thomas called out her name in worry.

The Immune freed himself, jumping down from the table and charged straight for Janson, tackling him through the glass window. They both crashed out in the hallway, the wind getting knocked out from their lungs but Thomas still managed to punch him in the chest as they laid there to recuperate.

Ky seen how Janson pushed Thomas away, getting up and threw a punch directly into Thomas’s face. Thomas fell down, getting back up and did the same to him. He then hit Janson again, sending him flying into the wall and tried to pin him but he moved around, punching Thomas square in the face. Thomas spun around, landing on his knees and Janson grabbed the collar of his shirt; tightening it dangerously to choke him out.

“Stop it! Let him go!” Ky cried out, Thomas’s face turning bright red to a light shade of purple. “Thomas!” She whimpered, pounding the back of her head into the wall and gazed upon Teresa who was still laying there. “Teresa. Teresa, wake up! Teresa, wake up!”

Her arm moved an inch then her body followed in pursuit, her head groggily picking itself up as she groaned. Her blue eyes traveled from the fight to Ky, her knowing that she needed to free her sister. Teresa moved slow, crawling over to Ky and sat back on her feet, undoing her wrists from the wall.

Thomas went down again, receiving another blow to the face by Janson and coughed. “Come on.” Janson prodded, readying his hands to throw more punches.

Thomas slowly gathered strength, channeling his anger for everything that Janson ever done and pounced to his feet with a twist. His right fist balled up tight, connecting with Janson’s face then his left, and back to his right but this time, it went right into his gut. He pulled back, going again but Janson captured his fist, back handing him then kneeing him in the stomach before chucking him across the floor.

“Okay.” Janson muttered, reaching into his back pocket and took out his pistol. “That’s enough.” He lectured.

Perking himself up, Thomas spotted Teresa stumbling out of the room with Ky by her side. The two girls frowned at the scene that was before them; Thomas weaponless, Janson grinning from ear to ear with a bloody face and from behind, Ky noticed two big orange glowing orbs that was coming straight for the building. At the last second, Ky realized what they were when they made impact.

The whole room turned bright orange with sparks raining down, shards of glass spraying everywhere and everyone being thrown to the floor from the blast. The WCKD building was finally under attack by the Cranks; them outside on the ground level, readying the rocket launchers that they stole from WCKD and shooting them straight into headquarters.

Through the debris and in the lighting of flickering lights, Teresa found the injector and grabbed it while Thomas found Ky, helping her on up. The three of them began their journey down the hall and Teresa took the serum out of the injector while Thomas glanced back, seeing Janson standing on his feet and pointing his gun at Teresa. Thomas moved quick, sheltering her as six shots rang out; the three bolting around the corner, entering the medical wing.

The glass doors open, the girls and Thomas stumbling in and peering out the blue lit room. On her right, Ky see Cranks behind a glass wall and just imagined Charles and Quinn as them. The thought was enough for her to tumble down by the door, next to tanks of hydrogen and even propane. Teresa witnessed her doing so, kneeling down in front of her.

“Ky, how you feeling?”

“Like I’m a mouse in an oven.” She teased numbingly because she was telling the truth. “Just waiting to be suffocated . .”

Teresa gently checked her sister’s pulse, feeling it drown out and stood up in a hurry. “Thomas, we need to get—” she cut off her sentence, seeing him holding onto his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers. “Thomas?” The building was hit again, the room shaking which made him lose footing and fall down. “Thomas!”

She rushed down, getting down in front of him and Thomas lifted his shirt, wanting to see the damage for himself. The bullet had plunged itself deep into the right side of his abdomen, leaking blood. “Oh, shit . .” Thomas cursed.

“Okay, okay we need to, uh,” Teresa began trying to talk herself through the steps, searching the nearby cabinets and drawers for gauze. “Find something.” She rummaged around, finally finding paper. “Here. Here!” She balled it up in a wad, resting it against his wound, telling him to keep it there and to keep pressure on it.

With labored breaths, Thomas glanced back and forth between the two sisters, speaking in pauses. “You gotta go. Take Ky.” Teresa peered up at him slowly, stunned as he nods, repeating, “You gotta go. The both of you.”

Teresa shook her head. “No. Not without you.” Steam began hissing and the two shifted their eyes, seeing Janson enter and they both seperated, hiding from Janson.

The doors close from behind him and he gazes to the side, seeing the Cranks and raised his gun back up. “I admit, Teresa, you had me fooled. I thought we were friends.”

Teresa peered over the one counter top, seeing where Ky had vanished too and ducked right back down as Janson passed by.

“Maybe it’s just in your nature to betray the people closest to you. Like your own family.”

She scurries across the floor in a crawl, accidently hitting beakers that fell from when the room shook and Janson whipped around, shooting at the source. Once he saw nothing, he huffed, fixing his posture and began scanning the room again.

“Come on. Let’s not prolong this. We both know there’s no way outta here. Let’s not make this any more painful than it needs to be.”

The building shakes again but it’s minor; the Cranks must’ve been shooting at the other two skyscrapers that were attached on either side of the WCKD HQ.

Teresa was hiding on the corner, keeping her breathing to a minimum and found Ky. Her hand resting on her wound, her body arched in an unnatural way. Sweat drenched her forehead, face, and neck which made her damped hair cling to her. Ky winces, her hand twitching every so often which confirmed that the nerves in her body were now being affected.

“Thomas. Teresa.” Janson continued to roam around. “Ky?” He then questioned. “You still with us?” He headed around the one counter, finding her to be bent out of shape with earned him a grin. “There you are. Look like hell.”

“You know, I was supposed to be a kid. I was supposed to grow up.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t start that crap. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you’re dying.”

“I know.” She reclines her head back, squeezing her eyes shut to release her salty tears. “And I accept it.” Her hazel eyes open again, them losing their green and brown color. “Why can’t you?”

At the inquiry,  Janson lost his smugness. His gun even dropped by two inches—that’s how much her remark took him back.

“I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.” He went to squeeze the trigger but Teresa stood up from her spot, stopping him and hurried in front of Ky. “Teresa. I think you have something of mine.”

With getting Ky up on her feet, sheltering her from Janson, Teresa withdrew the serum tube from her pocket. She flashed the magnificent blue liquid to him but Janson just stood his head, raising his pistol back to where it was before.

“Not that. Where is he?”

“Just take it.” She motioned towards the serum. “Leave him alone.”

“What is it with you two? You think he’s so special.” Janson said bitterly. “He’s a lab rat. He was born with a gift. He never had to fight for it, he never earned it. But your sister has fought for it, and every single one of her friends who’ve died because of it. Ky deserves it, not Thomas.” He adds with the intention of manipulating her like how he had done with Owe.

Teresa grows quiet, gulping. “Maybe. But it’s his.”

Janson lost his smirk, growing angry at the fact that Teresa was too smart for her own good. He had to play dirtier. “What about you, Thomas?” He shouts in the room. “What do you have to say? Don’t you have enough blood on your hands already?” A pause. “You might not have been able to shoot her. But I can.”   
“You wouldn’t.” Ky defended. “Because she knows how to make the serum to cure the infected . . . You need that because without it, you’re dead man walking.”

“Like you said,” he clutches the pistol tight again, “I’ll have to accept it.”

From behind, the glass door opens and someone jumps into the back of Janson, knocking him straight onto the ground and the gun out of his hand. Teresa jerks herself and Ky back, seeing the boy and the man fumble around. The boy gets on top, punching Janson repeatedly and Ky notices it as James. The door opens again and Anne comes in, her blue eyes finding Ky and smiling happily until the building rocketed them all.

“We need to get out of here!” Teresa ordered. “Anne, can you get Thomas?”

Anne nods, replying with a, “yes” and hurried over to help the injured boy up. “Where do we go?”

“The roof. It’s an evacuation point! And our best bet.” Anne follows the orders, heading on out with Thomas to the stairwell while Ky and Teresa hurried pass James and Janson, following after the two others.

Partway through the hallway, Teresa had forgotten to grab something important and had settled Ky down near the stairwell door and ran to the best of her ability to her room and desk. Anne and Thomas stayed with, Anne sniffling since the building began groaning and shaking every other minute as more rockets were being blown into it. Her face was covered in ash from the outside, being close to burning buildings and having the smoke blow straight into her face. She no longer had the light behind her eyes and with seeing that, it made Ky feel like a failure. _How much did Anne witness?_ She pondered.

“Islers!” Anne and Ky both redirected their heads to see Blaire, her hair long and blonde, tied up into a ponytail as she wore her WCKD outfit and held a gun in her hand.

Ky gave Anne a nod, letting her know to leave with Thomas who looked like he was barely hanging on to life. She listened, going while Ky struggled with standing, facing the old friend of theirs. “Blaire, you don’t have to do this.”

“And what exactly am I doing, Ky?”

“You’re doing what you think needs to be done. Just let it go. There’s a cure now. But it means nothing if Thomas dies and your father just shot him. He’s bleeding out—he’s dying.” Ky stated. “All because your father is greedy . . . Blaire, we never put ourselves first. We always put our friends, our Islers—our family—first. You can still come with us, join us. Everything can be different.” Ky teared up. “Come home.”

It takes a full minute for Blaire to come up with a decision, the gun slowly tumbling out of her hands and onto the floor. “You’re right . . . I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Ky lent out her hand to Blaire, wiggling her veiny fingertips to let her know that she welcomed. “It’ll be okay.” Blaire slowly reached her hand out, placing it within Ky’s and shook it firmly.

Pain coursed through Ky’s knee, making her leg go out from underneath her and she stumbled. With Blaire still holding onto her hand, she stopped her from slamming her kneecap off the hard floor. Ky yelped, wincing and gasped for air. Blaire asked if she was alright and began trying to help her get her leg back under, pulling upwards. Ky was going to respond but was cut off by a gunshot and blood splattering all over her face which made her eyes shut. Her body falls back, her butt taking the hard wipeout and her hands supporting themselves from behind to stop her head from hitting.

Ky delicately opened her eyes, seeing that Blaire was now dead on the floor, noticing that a bullet had entered in through the back of her head and exited out the front. Since Ky was short and down on the ground, the bullet whizzed right over her head, landing straight into the wall that was behind her. Her eyes then find where the bullet had come from, no one other than Janson himself.

She was bewildered. “You . . You just killed . . . Just killed . .”

“Killed my own daughter? Yeah, well you know, family can be difficult.” Janson beamed with enthusiasm as his face was black and blue from James beating the living daylights out of him—

 _James,_ Ky instantly worried. “What did you do to James?”

“Nothing I haven’t done before. You’ll soon see.” Janson began stomping towards her and she crawled backwards, trying to hurry her pace and finally broke away from his crazy, maniac eyes. Ky flipped over, weakly crawling on hands and knees and he rounded up on the side, watching her flounder about.

“I always knew you were a fighter, Carina.” Janson says menacingly, taking a step up, swinging his leg right into her side and she collapses straight down on her stomach, crying out. “You never did know when to quit.”

Ky slowly took in a deep breath, this time army crawling at a slow pace. Janson shakes his head. “Looks like you still don’t, because that’s. Just not. The Murphy way. Isn’t it?” He takes another kick at her ribs, and she drops with a thud and a guttural yelp. Tears streamed down her face as her eyes went shut, the upper half of her body slowly curling down and into herself to form a ball. “Carina,” Janson snickers with sinister intent, moistening his lips with his tongue. “Don’t you know what your last name means? The scientific definition?”

Her cut had began bleeding again, feeling liquid seeping out and dripping onto the floor that she rested on. She begged that Teresa would be coming soon, begged that Anne and Thomas were okay while Janson was doing his mental warfare and abuse.

“‘Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong at the worst possible moment’. That’s Murphy’s Law.” He finishes, heading on over to where Blaire had dropped her gun and picked it up.

Steadily, Ky uncoiled herself, pushing up on her arms and got her weary legs underneath her body. She stands straight up, staggering to look at Janson as he got the gun, wiping it off and seen her.

“You’re really _that_ stubborn?” He watched as she tried channeling her breathing, her lungs expanding in and out which made her nose flare with every inhale and exhale. “Just give up, Ky.”

“No,” she shakes her head. “I won’t. Not until the people I care about are safe and far away from here.”

“You worry too much.” Janson brought up the gun, shooting but Ky is moved out of the way by a mass of body.

She’s flung over down on the floor and she gazes up, seeing James with blood dripping out both nostrils and the side of his face was cut up from small scratches that seemed to be caused by Janson smashing his face into broken glass. Her eyes then see his shoulder, noticing a bullet wound. Janson had shot him, thinking James would’ve been dead but no, he was surely alive and ready to fight.

Janson rolls his head. “James, come on. We’ve been through this.”

James clenches his jaw, spitting out his wad of saliva that had blood in it as well. “I’m not going to let you kill her.”

“I’ll be doing her a favor.”

James shouts, springing up and into action, shoving the gun out of Janson’s hands. They broke into a fight of their own; James punches Janson in the jaw, then the gut. He shoved him back towards the room that they were all previously in but Janson  got the best of him, grabbing the back of James’s head and bringing up his knee to collide with his face. James flies back on the floor, spitting up more blood and with a huff, Janson regrabs the gun, cocking it to reload the chamber.

With energy coursing through his body, James moved back inch by inch to get to the room. Janson was right on his tail, raising the gun at the boy’s face, still taking steps as James kept on scooching across the floor. “Such a waste of potential. What would your mother say, huh?”

“You tell me, you killed her.” James replies with a snicker as if he lost his mind, entering pass the threshold of the doors which caused the cleansing steam to come to life. “All that’s left is me . . . Just kill me, Nick.”

“I will.” He then places the barrel of the gun right in between his eyes. “And I’ll be the last thing you’ll ever see, haunting you forever in that dark abyss.

“Go ahead.” James then pressed his head right against the end of the pistol, closing in the two inch gap that was there before. “You don’t fuckin’ scare me.”

Once again, Janson tries to shoot but James is quick, he manages to knock gun out of Janson’s hand and punches him as hard as he could which ended up cracking his knuckles. Janson tumbles down and James pushes himself to his feet as he took the gun, seeing Ky getting up from the floor and watching him. Sadly, he smiled to her and then shot at the control panel that opened the door; breaking it.

“James?” Ky calls out, wondering what in the world he was thinking, coughing harshly into her shoulder.

He eyed the tanks that were next to the door, seeing one that read Propane and turned the knob, letting the gas release into the air that surrounded them while Janson was groaning, rolling around on the floor. He had been without serum for a few good hours and he was beginning to feel it wear off, letting the Crank side of him develop. James placed the gun into his back pocket, glancing back at the glass door to see Ky limping over and pressing her hands against the glass.

“James, what are you doing?” She shouts through, her voice slightly muffled since the glass was ballistic. “James!” Her small, slender fingers pound on it.

He slowly peered over his shoulder down at Janson, she follows his gaze and shakes her head; eyes growing big as he turned back.

“No, no! James, please! James.”

James placed his hand up on the glass where Ky’s was, their touch separated. He thought this through too much, actually, he always knew that this is where he’ll be. Back to where he started; where his life began.

He nods to her. “Lucas needs you more.” A pause. “It’s okay.” James promises. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Ky then watched how he flexed down his pinkie and moved his thumb on over, connecting the two and left his other three fingers up. She began crying, knowing that he was saying goodbye to her. She does the same back and James sees Teresa scurrying up in the hall behind Ky, calling out for her for them to move to the stairwell. James nudges for Ky to leave but she still stays, not ready to let him go.

Teresa runs up, seeing the situation that was going on and he motioned for her to take Ky away from that floor as soon as possible. She understands, looping her sister’s arm around her shoulder and lugs her away to the stairwell to join Anne and Thomas up on the rooftop. James steps away from the door and from behind, Janson laughs like a lunatic.

“You’re always going to be a liar to them.” He says, his last, final attempt at being the nasty worm in everyone’s brains. “That’s how they’re all going to remember you. A traitor!”

“A traitor, yeah . . .” James brokenly laughs, spinning on his heel and taking out a lighter. He flips up the lid, revealing the wick and the flint wheel which made Janson lost his smile. The  rat faced man began sniffing at the air and smelt gass. “How’s this for a traitor?”

This thumb comes down, striking a spark, having the whole room engulf in flames and explode.

In the stairwell, Ky and Teresa felt the building shift again, Teresa grunting and peering up at the two flights of stairs that they had to take to get to the rooftop where Anne and Thomas were at. Teresa helped her sister up, holding onto her side as well as her arm that was hooked across her shoulders and made it to the very top, pushing the rooftop door open to see Anne sitting down with Thomas.

The entire rooftop was in flames, embers flying everywhere and the smoke scented the atmosphere, blocking out the stars and the moon to make it appear that it had been blown out.

Teresa frowned, eyeing the three of them and urged them that they needed to go back inside and head to the lower levels. She turns with Ky, the door still open a jar and once they both got close to it, flames shoot out from behind. The fire had made its way to the stairwell, trapping them on top of the building. Teresa gasps, stumbling back with Ky and peers over at the other WCKD building on the right before Ky whispered to her that she needed to lie down for a moment. Teresa sits her down against the railing, switching places with Anne so Teresa could have a few words with Thomas and to hand him the serum.

With Ky, Anne holds her hand tight and looked into her sorrow filled eyes and blood splattered face. She didn’t even want to know what had happened, she just wanted Ky to be okay but by the veins and bruises, Anne knew she wasn’t. Instead, she tried to distract her with a simple, “You came back for me.”

Ky nods sluggishly, her head nodding off to the sides before she gains control of it. “Your moms deserved to have her daughter back.”

Anne sniffled. “So does your dad, Ky.”

“I wanted to save you, wanted to save all of you but . . . Bia was right. We never had deaths or problems, not until me . .” She began sobbing. “I put you all in so much danger. I’m the real monster here.”

“You’re not a monster. You were someone who was trying the best that they could to keep us alive.”

“And look where we are now.” Ky wallowed. “We’re stuck.” The heat of the fire grew intense, making Ky feel like her skin was melting. She felt her body giving up, her eyes shutting close and hand about to slip from Anne’s grasp.

Anne shook her, hell-bent on keeping Ky awake at all costs. She glanced over at Teresa who held Thomas in her arms, them both kissing one another before pulling away and staying close. Anne felt them all giving up and she worried until she remembered how she still had her tracker in her neck, reaching back to it and felt around. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope.

The familiar whirring of a Berg sounded, Anne instantly turning to see huge lights shining down on them as it rose above the rooftop. Inside, she could see Diego driving with Lee, Ricky, Lucas, Minho, and Gally all behind him. Teresa seen them as well, facing to Anne and told her that they needed to get up and move.

She got Ky up while Teresa got Thomas, the four trekking over towards the ledge as the Berg swerved and the cargo hold opened to reveal Lee in the back with Gally as Ricky, Lucas, and Minho were laying on the door. The boys all had their hands placed out, informing them that they’re all so close to making it. Teresa made progress with Thomas, gaining speed while Alex had a hard time with Ky since her whole body was shutting down and spasmed every once in while which rendered her immobile.

A blast sounded, echoing right into Ky’s left ear and she spotted the WCKD tower that was next to him was now being targeted, pieces of it falling down into the city streets below. She then got extremely light headed, falling down to her knees and threw up the thing she dreaded the most. The black goop. It didn’t have a taste, but it smelt ghastly and was warm coming up and out of the throat. Anne tried getting her back up but Ky’s wasn’t responsive, and it scared her immensely. Though, once she recovers, she’s back up and on the move again.

Teresa got Thomas near the ledge, seeing the boys all shouting for her to push him up onto the door. Teresa does so while Thomas helped her out, knowing that she wasn’t nearly as strong enough to support all of his dead weight. She gives him a push and Thomas jumps up, Minho clutching onto his arm while Ricky got the other, pulling him in.

 _KA-BOOM!_ Another explosion shakes them all, even the Berg since Diego heard it and jerked the wheel. Cranks had shot a rocket into the same building that Ky was eyeing previously, a huge chunk of the building breaking off and falling in a giant heap. Teresa watched it as it did, knowing that the remaining structure of it wouldn’t last forever.

“Teresa!” Anne screams. The older girl sees Ky, her heart shattering to see that she had fallen back down onto her knees, her body arching as if her body was trying to throw up more goo but wasn’t able to produce any.

Teresa sprints in her wedges, getting down next to Ky, getting her up with Anne’s help. Teresa then ordered for Anne to go for the Berg and she ran over, taking ganders back at Ky on the way. Ricky held his hand out to Anne, telling her to jump and that he’ll catch her. She was nervous but believed him, taking a few steps back, ran and jumping off. Ricky got her, helping her inside with Lucas’s help since Minho and Gally were clearly too busy with Thomas and his injury.

Lucas and Ricky spot Ky and Teresa, the two girls struggling to move at a faster pace. The Berg jerks out, making the gap between them bigger and Ricky shouts, “Diego, we have to get closer!”

“I’m trying to hold it!”

He whips his head back to his sisters, trying to think of something while Lucas encouraged them with shouts of, “Come on!” and “Almost there!” Finally, Ricky’s eyes land on a wire in the haul of the Berg, pulling it out and attached it to his belt loop to secure him just in case he could fall. He slips on over the edge of the cargo door at the waist, holding out his arm for them to grab.

Teresa’s the one that tries to reach, just grazing Ricky’s fingertips with hers before they break away, almost going over the ledge of the rooftop. Lucas shouts, “We need to get closer, Diego! Now! Closer and lower!” Diego listens, doing as told.

The back of the Berg tips down and moves in close, the gap shortening and Teresa tries to move Ky but she refuses. “You go first.”

“Ky, you need to go—”

“I’m not getting on there if you’re not on it first!”

“Ky, hurry, please!” Lucas begged, tears in his eyes. “We’re trying to save you! _I’m_ trying to save you!” He hollers over the Berg’s roaring engine and the wild, licking flames of destruction.

Their father, Lee, gotten in between his two sons, eyeing his two daughters. “Come on, you two! You need to hurry! Now!”

Teresa tries making Ky go up first but she bickers once more. “Teresa, you get up there first. Please!”

She opens her mouth to argue back but Lucas screamed, yelling out both of their names as he heard the other WCKD tower that was blasted grumble; the metal screeching. His brown eyes lock on it as well as Ricky and Lee’s, even Minho, Gally, Thomas, and Anne’s. Ky and Teresa twirled, seeing how the middle floors of the towering building began to shatter, dissolving into dust as the top portion of it began tumbling over onto the rooftop. With the blow, the fire and embers flew up and high into the night while Ky lost her footing, dropping down on all fours with Teresa right by her side. Teresa had known this was coming.

“Ky! Teresa!” Thomas bellowed out, trying to crawl to the ledge with the Murphy boys but Minho stabilized him.

The building from underneath the girls began crying out, the metal whining from the collision that it had just endured. Teresa peered to Ky, seeing that she passed out and brought her into her lap, tapping her face repeatedly to bring her to. Ky’s eyes opened and when they did, they were completely bloodshot, the hazel color completely gone and reduced to black.

“You’re okay.” Teresa automatically told her, crying softly. “You know, I did everything I could.” She paused for a second. “I’m sorry.” She then apologized.  “I . . I tried.”

Ky looked up at her sister, slowly nodding. “I know.” She replied. “I know you did. That’s why I had to see you before, you know . . .” Her voice died down. “You need to go, leave me.”

“I’m not going to do that. We’re getting in the Berg together.”

“No, no. I’m . . I’m already dying so you can go.” Ky states, tears falling from her eyes. “I rather have that than losing you again. I love you.”

“And I love you, too.” Teresa reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded picture and gives it to her. Ky shakily grabs it, not bothering to look and placed it into her pocket. She leans down, placing a kiss on the top of her head and glanced up at the Berg to see their family.

Teresa locks eyes with Lee, seeing him placing a hand over his mouth while the scene unfolded before his very own peers. Lucas was in a mental state of being terrified and Teresa knew it was because he had already lost a twin, having to be there for it. And here he was again, going through it once more. Ricky, his facial expression was harder to read but Teresa could tell that he was nervous by his white knuckles.

Her stare falls back down to Ky, seeing her drifting off once more, her heartbeat slow and that’s when determination set in. Grin and bearing it, Teresa scooped Ky up in her arms, right arm under her knees and her left behind her back while her head rested against her left shoulder. In the Berg, Ricky leaned himself back out on the ramp, holding his arms out along with Lee and Lucas. Teresa takes a few steps back, measuring out the distance from the edge of the rooftop to the Berg. In a scurry, she steps up, using all the muscle that she had instilled in her and raised Ky up and over onto the Berg. Ricky goes for her arms and shoulders, Lee for the waist, and Lucas for her ankles and legs. All three of them tugging her in and she comes too, opening her eyes, breathing heavily to see that she no longer on the rooftop.

Ky lolled her head over, seeing Teresa still standing on the on the burning rooftop all alone.

Teresa was still in a state of shock from the hit but once she notices that Ky’s safe—more importantly awake—her lips break into a light smile. Her teary eyes blurred her vision but she can still see the outline of her, her brothers, her father, and even Thomas who managed to stare down at her with Minho and Gally. They began calling out for her, holding their hands for her to come aboard but she was still, not reacting. That’s when Lee realized what she was doing. His sight shifting, catching glimpse of the rooftop section behind her crumbling into debris.

Teresa still continues to smile, her goal had been achieved; the goal of her having found a cure for the Flare and saving her little sister. That’s all she ever wanted for her family.

At the last moment, she musters up a look that just told Ky and those who were witnessing this tragic event that she accepted this fate and was ready. And just like that, the platform underneath her is erased and she falls back into the air.

“Teresa!” Ky screams, all the air leaving her lungs as she dove forwards on her stomach, arm reaching out to try and grab her sister but it was no use. Down Teresa fell, extending out her right hand to her sister’s while disappearing into and among the rubble, dust, smoke, and embers. Out of sight, out of mind.

The Berg began flying away as Lee, god rest his soul, choked up when telling Diego that they can leave. Moving from the rooftop, Ky had partial view the building, seeing the entire roof plummet in on itself which crushed each and every floor in a domino effect.

 _James and Blaire,_ Ky thought to herself, _they were all in that building and now, nothing. Absolutely nothing._ That’s when she felt herself going senseless. Her body going dull, no longer using muscles to keep her grounded on the cargo door. She became weightless, slipping.

Lucas hooks his hands on her shoulder, hoisting her back and away from the overhang. Lee’s eyes snag sight of her Crank veins and began crying himself, taking her from Lucas’s hands and rested his daughter into his lap. He held her tight and snug, just like how he did the first time—when she was born. Staring down at her marble blue skin that was vined with sickly black markings wasn’t something he ever wanted to see.

“Carina,” he shook her gently, seeing how her eyes were fixated on the dark blue night sky. She was trying to slip away into it. “Baby girl . .” He whimpered. “Come on. Come on, you’re alright. You’re okay, I got you. Daddy’s got you.”  

Lucas felt his body growing cold, his heart beating weakly from feeling constricted as if someone held it in their hand and squeezed it tight. He wasn't _experiencing_ this sensation, he was connected to it from Ky. She was the one that was undergoing the torture. He had felt this before. With Liam.

“Dad . .”

Lee shot up his stare to the boy, shaking his head. He knew exactly what Lucas was going to say and didn't want to hear it, he wanted to live in his denial for a little while longer.

Next to them, Thomas was laying down on his back with Minho pressing on his wound and Gally grabbing medical gauze from a nearby First Aid Kit that was hanging on the wall, unraveling it. Anne helped out, securing Thomas’s shoulders in place so he couldn’t move and prevent more blood lost; which began becoming a hard task for the slim girl.

Thomas was shouting, fighting to try and lift his head up to try and see Ky. “Is she okay?!” He shouts. “Is Ky okay?! I need to know if she’s okay!”

She wasn’t. Ky was far away in her own mind, her eyes focused on the stars, counting each and every one. She knew that monsters always die at the end of books, so her fading into the night was expected. She had long thought of herself as a monster but now, the heroes can live in peace and she can rest easy, no longer bringing harm. Ky had her time, she overstayed her welcome. And just, like, that. Her eyes shut, sinking her straight down into the depths of her darkness. There, she became it.

Lee moved his hand up on her neck, the soft beating of her pulse echoed out in the same exact rhythm that he had heard when Rose was pregnant with her and the boys. In the ultrasound, they focused on each baby’s heart beat, Lucas and Liam’s were the same. Theirs went _waum, waum, waum, waum, waum, waum._ A normal, steady pace, two seconds between each one. Then, there was Ky’s _twomp, twomp, twomp, twomp, twomp._ A faster beat, only a second between.

That’s what Lee felt with his four fingers, the same _twomp, twomp, twomp._ But near the end, it spaced out, growing quieter, more still. _Twomp . . . Twomp . . . . Twomp._ And then . . .

Lee cried, his tear spilling over and clinging to his daughter’s body while Thomas seen, screaming. “No! You have to save her! I’m fine, just save Ky! Bring her back!”

Everything had became distant in that moment. Feelings, voices, and the people. Lucas began weeping himself, parts of his soul were missing since he no longer had a twin brother or sister. Ricky cried too, covering his face and hunched over, sniffling. Thomas had finally settled, giving up on his fight and tried his best to reach his hand out to Ky’s. He just needed to be with her, to somehow apologize for not being able to save her from the Flare.

In his best efforts, he too, felt himself slipping into that void that was calling out to him. Maybe it was Ky telling him to let go so he could be with her and if he was being honest, he was accepting the offer. He has done enough, been through enough, witnessed enough, and suffered enough. It was time to give into serenity and feel nothing again. So he did.

Side by side, Thomas and Ky laid, their bloody hands within reach. For the Glader and the Isler, everything ceased to exist while the Berg continued to fly away from the broken, burning city of Denver.


	27. PART 3, CHAPTER 9: Carry You

It was a scene straight out of a movie scene with the waves rolling up on shore before breaking and smoothing out the wet sand with foam. Seagulls flying over and chirp, mixing in with the nearby giggles of younger Immune children that were building sandcastles in the back with Brenda and Gally. Two of them were Owe’s siblings that he finally got to meet named Grayson and Alex; they were being watched over by his father’s girlfriend of two years, Jolene. Ironically, she was the mother of Lina—or by recent account, _ Hannah _ . That was Lina’s real name before WCKD. And since they were no longer in the Trials, Lina wanted to mesh the names together because, in her own words, “we must not forget who we were and who we’ve become”. Lina officially became Linnah; pronounced the same but the spelling is what mattered. 

With a soft sigh, Owe peers out at the horizon once more and eyes the boat in the far distance that they had taken to get to the safe haven, which many renamed Paradise. It had reminded him of the Isle just without the surrounding walls and of course, the Labyrinth; there was only gorgeous mountains that arched right around them, providing a secure location of whatever outside world remained. It was also missing Phil the Deer, the brown antlered creature that used to be Owe’s sidekick. He could only imagine how the mammal was treating himself. Was he okay? Did he die? He wasn’t sure what had happened but he liked to believe that he survived and found a place for him to be safe for the rest of his remaining days like how Owe had. 

He turns away, heading up towards the small community of huts that rested right by the beach; right on the coastline. A few men and women were building boats and poles for those who wanted to go fishing while another group that involved Sasha, Eliza, Vince, and Sonya were gathering up vegetables and fruits from the four gardens. Owe then peers off to the left, seeing Thomas leaving his shack and heading down the one pathway through the patches of marram grass. He pauses, standing there, just watching. 

Thomas strolls down, checking out the place and wondering how long he’d been there and asleep for. The answer was a day and eleven hours. His body was taken off of the Berg when it landed at the Hideout, transported onto the boat, shipped throughout the day, and they reached the peninsula. It had been ten at night when they arrived, loading everyone off, and taking Thomas to his own shack to stay. He slept through the morning and just awoke at four in the afternoon. It’d been a ride to say the least. 

Minho was sitting over with Jorge, carving wood and glanced up, his eyes landing on Thomas and immediately stood. He wandered up, meeting Thomas halfway but then stopped in his tracks but he tried to think of something to say. Aris, Harriet, Sonya, Frypan, and Vince all gathered around and once Brenda and Gally brought up the kids, they did too. All of them stood in wonder at Thomas. Was he alright? Does he remember what happened? Was he angry that he was alive? Or was he something else? Minho tries to open his mouth, produce words but just couldn’t. They’ve lost so much and there wasn’t really anything else to say. Thomas knew. 

Thomas musters up a small smile, nodding gently to let Minho know that it was alright before stepping up and took him into a big hug. Minho hugged him back, patting his back and stayed there for a few minutes before letting him go. The others greet him with whispers of endearment, giving him a handshake and side hugs. They were happy that he was finally awake, he had scared them all once he had passed out in the Berg, thinking that he had died—Brenda more than most. She had fallen for Thomas and wanted him to be safe, wanted her to stay with him. She knew that she couldn’t act on account that he had witnessed Teresa dying, someone that he used to care so deeply about and got torn away from him in a matter of seconds. 

Owe had to turn away from seeing the reunion, pensive because he wished that had been him. He wished that he could see his little sister and mother again, the other Islers like Hayley, and— _ No _ . He couldn’t let his thoughts drown him out, he needed to stay afloat, swim through the guilt and change his mind to something else. 

The best thing he could think of? Seeing Anne. 

Anne had grown quiet ever since she came back, mostly staying with their mothers and not helping out like how she used to. Her light went dim, the inside of her hollowed out like a pumpkin getting ready for Halloween. She was shattered by Micky and Quinn’s deaths; both involved enormous booms of gunshots and explosions. It rendered Anne not being able to withstand loud noises or even talking. She personally chose to be mute; to be silent for the rest of her days and to try and maintain what little comfort she had left in Paradise. Don’t get her wrong. She did limited speaking to her mothers and even Ricky, but her words just mostly became the one word responses of, “yeah”, “no”, “sometimes”, and “maybe”. That’s all it ever was, just small conversation and nothing more. 

Minutes passed when Owe had found Anne up by the foot of the grassy, green mountain where they had buried the bodies of Newt and Micky. They had brought them back from Denver, wanting to give them a place of peace, for it was what they truly deserved. To rest. 

He knew how Newt got there but as for Micky, when Lucas and Lee noticed that her, Anne, and James were missing from the bunch, they ran after to find them as Ricky and Diego got the Berg ready with Minho and Gally. Gunshots sounded and they trekked over, seeing Micky and it was Lucas’s idea to place her in the Berg, to honor her courage for trying. So there Micky lied in the ground, next to Next with her own little nameplace. 

Anne was sitting in a wooden chair that must’ve been built recently from the how fresh the wood looked, polished, staring at Micky’s grave that had a few picked flowers resting on top of the newly dug dirt and soil. Owe knew better than to speak and spook her, so he casually walked up, giving her time to notice him and crouched down next to her. In silence, they stayed and Owe just waited, wanting her to speak whenever she was ready. It didn’t take long. 

“Hi, Owe.” 

“Hey, Annie.” 

She brokenly smiled, tears pushing to her eyes. “You know, Ky used to be the only one who used to call me that.” 

It all went silent again, not even the birds that surrounded tweeted a sound.

“Ky’s dead, isn’t she?” Owe asks, staring down at his shoes and seen how they appeared still but underneath, he was clenching and unclenching his toes. A nervous habit of his. 

Anne nods. “Yeah, she did.” A short pause. “At least she doesn’t have to worry about us anymore.” 

“Pretty sure people still worry in heaven.” Owe frowns but tries to press on a smile to make it seem like he was joking, that he wasn’t hurting but Anne knew better. 

“I’m sorry.” Anne apologized, resting her hand on his knee. “I know how much she meant to you.”

He sniffles, resting his hand on top of hers. “And I knew how much Quinn meant to you.” Stillness, the birds in the trees above singing their small tunes. “I wish you can save people.” Owe mumbled. 

Anne then shrugged. “You can but some don’t want to be saved.”

“Like Quinn . . .” 

“And Ky.” 

Owe thinks it through. “You think that Ky didn’t want to be saved?” 

“I think, she was so determined to save us—like how she always used to—that it got to the point that herself wasn’t worth the struggle. Worth the time.” 

“I should’ve . . . I should’ve stayed. I should’ve tried harder. I should’ve—” 

“Don’t do that to yourself.” Anne instantly scolded him. “You did as she asked, you respected her choice.” 

“But if I hadn’t, she could’ve lived.” 

“Who says?” Anne retorts, taking her hand away from his knee and tucked her hair behind her ears as the wind blew past. “Owe, you could’ve done everything correct and still have this outcome. You could’ve stayed with her, been on that rooftop, and injected the cure into her veins, but we can never be sure that that could’ve saved her. It’s like that  _ ticker _ of yours.” She then points in his chest, digging her finger straight into his cavity where his heart was located. “You can deal with it in many way but when it acts up, things are blurred and there’s so many possibilities to choose from that results come in different outcomes.” 

The wording may of been off but Owe was intelligent enough to understand what she was trying to say. Like his heart, Ky was on a timer with the Flare and with problems that she faced, the timer sped up and overworked her into a point that she experienced so much internal weakness and pain. Something like that would make anyone want to never experience that again; like Owe with his PAT. He paced himself out and tried not to get too strained because his heart races at an abnormal rate, isn’t consistent, and gives him chest pains to the point that he can’t breathe as well as lightheadedness. 

Ky had her own symptoms of the Flare and she only had three choices to stop it; the cure, turning, or dying. The Cure meant that Ky would steal someone else’s shot at living and she wasn’t selfish. Turning meant losing herself to the virus and becoming something she wasn’t, and that absolutely terrified her. Her only option was death, and she accepted it with open arms and a wide that said, “take me home”. With a good heart, of course, Ky would pick the option where she could get solace and meeting the lost Islers in a beautiful place, and allows others to have the choice to live. 

Owe grows quiet as Anne pulls her hand back, resting it in her lap. “I know what it feels like to blame yourself but you can’t, because when you do, there’s no coming back. You don’t deserve that—don’t deserve to feel less about yourself. You’re one of the best people I know.” 

“Thanks, Anne.” Owe then eyed the graves, his leg shaking repeatedly and he took in a deep breath. “You think they’re both causing havoc wherever they are?”

Anne can’t help but smile a tad. “I think Mika’s being reckless as usual and Newt’s trying to calm her down but he soon joins in on the fun.” 

“Seems about right.” 

They both fell silent again, the wind picks up once more and the trees delicately speak in unison.

“I should get some sleep.” She mutters. “I’ve been up here since they’ve buried them, thinking.” 

He knew he shouldn’t have asked but he couldn’t help it. “Thinking about what?” 

“If I was to die tomorrow, would I be happy about how I lived today.” 

Anne stands, shivering since they were sitting in a shady area with only scattered rays of golden sunlight seeped in through the tree leaves. More wind blows by and Owe stands, placing his hands into his hoodie pocket and walking out behind her. 

They both head down, Owe wishing her a nice rest and heads over to where Frypan is in order to cook food for that night. Anne goes straight over to her own shack, taking off her shoes and yawned. A nap sounded good, she needed to give herself a break from being exhausted. Anne wanted to talk about her feelings, to participant with the Gladers, Islers, and Immunes as well as the other adults like Vince, Diego, Jorge, and Lee but it was all just too much to handle. The best thing for now was keeping to herself, getting some shuteye.

She reclines herself back on the bed, staring up at the cloth that acted as a ceiling for her, Anne closing her eyes for what felt like the first time in a long while and willed herself to sleep. Sooner than she thought, she passed right on out without another second passing her by to count how long it would’ve take. 

 

It had been an hour at most, with the sun beginning to set and the Immunes were getting ready for a welcoming bonfire since Vince had a speech that he’d prepared. She had awoke with a mind feeling strangely well rested, though every part of her body seemed to pulse with a dull ache every time she tried to move. Her eyes fixated on the ceiling, hearing the ocean waves from outside and kids running around to play tag. It prompt her upwards, her head getting dizzy from the sudden movement and she clutches her head, focusing on her breathing. 

Her eyes traveled across the hut, seeing the nearby trinkets, oil lantern, clothes, her shoes, and a few books that had no covers but only the titles printed on the spine. Wind blows, making the tarp flap and she heads over, pulling it away and glanced out to see how the waves were low tide and everyone was making way to what they called the Stage. In front of it, there was a huge boulder that stood tall, perched right on the backshore.

Lucas was grabbing a few utensils that Vince needed, taking them over to where the boulder was and caught sight of her, dropping the items and running up. Ricky was right behind him, watching him run off and as he noticed too, he screamed, “Dad!” 

By now, all of the Islers was looking, surprised and rushed up. Owe was over with his dad and brothers, seeing all gathering and was intrigued by what got everyone’s attention. He walked up with Nathan while Vince stood nearby, crossing his arms with a grin on his face and nodding over at Diego who was watching the scene as well. Owe made way through, excusing himself and found Lee, Lucas, and Ricky all huddled down and hugging their other family member who they all thought was dead. Ky.  

Owe couldn’t believe it!  _ But she’s dead,  _ he thought. _ Everyone said she was dead. I must be dreaming _ _!_ But it wasn’t a dream, it was real; she was clutching onto her brothers, one arm around the each of them and Lee had his all around the three of them, repeatedly kissing her head. 

You see, unbeknownst to everyone, when they got off the Berg and went onto the boat, Diego and Vince took Ky’s body and began working on her. Diego told Vince about how Gally said that Thomas was shouting for them to save Ky, trying to reach into his pocket with his one hand while reaching out for her with the other. They rummaged into Thomas’s pocket, finding the serum that Teresa made from his blood and had their own ideas for the girl. 

They rushed back to her, Diego had his training as a Marine so he knew what to do. Her heartbeat had faded but it was still there, barely, Lee must’ve not felt it in his worry but that’s understandable. Diego had Vince go and grab him some supplies that he needed to give Ky a blood transfusion, a small surgery to stitch up her cut stomach, and to supply her the cure. It was touch and go, her heart stilling on one occasion but he finally got it, stabilizing her; heart beating but still weak for a complete recovery. Diego was lucky enough that his blood type was the same as her, a small tidbit he had learned from Ricky before he did the exchange. He then placed the serum cartage into the syringe, stabbing the needle straight into her infected arm. 

Throughout the night of travel, Vince and Diego alternated between shifts, making sure that Ky was in fact making recovery. They just maintained the illusion that Ky was still dead, not telling anyone of their procedure in case something failed. Some could consider that horrible, allowing friends and family to grieve over a person who’s not dead but they figured to play it safe, and it payed off. 

The Murphy family pull away, allowing Owe to see Ky completely in a pair of cream colored shorts, a long sleeve shirt that was exactly like the one that Brenda was wearing except Ky’s was grey, and she was barefoot. Any trace of her of having been a Crank was gone; her face was clear from veins but still had the cut on her right cheek from when the glass hit her. Her lips were poised in a small smile as she looked to everyone, especially Anne to see her alive and well with her mothers. Her brown hair was shiny, not damp and dirty like how he had last seen her in the Last City. 

Around she goes, meeting everyone and paused when she seen Owe. His heart began beating fast, his hands sweating but he was the one that made the first move. “Ky,” he says breathlessly. 

She smiles even wider, sprinting forwards with her steps and he mimics her, the both of them colliding in a hug and holding each other tight. Owe buried his face down into her neck, taking in her scent of sweet pea and sprawled his fingers out across her back. Ky just rested her neck up and into his collarbones, her trembling to the point that she felt like she couldn’t stand. She was so overwhelmed by this boy and she never thought that she could have missed a person that much. 

Owe draws his head back, hands traveling up and cupping her cheeks. He stares in her hazel eyes, seeing the hues of brown and green mixing in with one another, thankful for the fact he could look into them once more. “I thought I lost you forever. I begged, I cried, and screamed in hope that on your way to heaven you’d hear me. That you’d turn around and come back to me.” His thumb began stroking her cheek, moving itself front to back and the one time he does, he captures the corner of her lip. “And you did.” 

“I’m sorry, Owe. I’m sorry that I didn’t say it back . . .” She drifted off, staring up at him. “I’m sorry that I say that I lov—”

“You did. More than once.” He explains softly. “You just had never said the three words, and you still don’t because I know.” Owe’s eyes then take a small glance to her lips, returning back to her eyes. “I know you do.” 

Ky went up on her tippy toes, kissing him on the lips softly for a minute and dropping back down on her heels. She seen how his eyes were still closed and he slowly drew them open, blinking in surprise. 

“Wh-hat,” his voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat, his cheeks going red, “was that for?” 

“Because I love you, Owe, Jake Rogers, the Incentive . . .” She listed on. “Whoever you are, whatever people call you, I. Love. You.” 

Owe flashes a smile, leaning down and kissing her with passionate and Ky didn’t want to sound like a cliche but in novels, when the guy kisses the girl, she usually describes it as the ‘kiss of thousand suns’. And Owe kissing her like that, that’s exactly how it felt; like their love was once apart of the cosmos and their atoms made them who they are so together, they were magnetic and cosmic. 

Pulling away, Owe rests his forehead on hers and pressed their noses together in pure bliss. “I love you, Ky Agnes, Carina Murphy, the Creator.” 

In that moment, everything was all right in the world. Until it became night and Vince began his speech at the Stage. 

It grew dark as everyone joined the stands at the Stage, staring out at Vince who stood in front of the huge stone and the firepit that illuminated majority of the area along with torches. Dranks of Gally’s were passed out to everyone in attending, everyone focusing forwards and ready. Once everyone had joined, that’s when Vince spoke up. 

“We have come a long way together. So many as sacrificed so much to make this place possible. Your friends and your family. So”—Vince raised his mason jar and everyone who had one did the same—“here’s to the ones who couldn’t be here. Here’s to the friends we’ve lost.”

Ky frowned, dropping her gaze down to her exposed knees that were slightly bruised from when she fell on the rooftop with Teresa. She began fumbling with her fingers and Owe sat next to her, noticing her tick and tenderly reached his left hand over. He took her hand into his, intertwining their fingers and leaned over, pecking her cheek. Ky blushed, resting her head on his shoulder and continued to listen. 

“This place is for you. It’s for all of us. But this”—Vince turns, pointing back at the stone—“this is for them.” He then picks up a sturdy knife that had a butt on it made for hammering, showing it off to everyone. “So, in your own way, in your own time, come make your peace.” He then sits the knife down, raising his jar again. “And welcome to the safe haven!” 

Everyone went up in roars, holding their mason jars towards the sky and cheer happily. A few did standing ovations, some just sat and clapped, others drank, then there was Ky; silent and peering around at her fellow Islers and family. They were all excited at making it to a place where they never had to worry again and live easy but Ky wondered if that could be her. 

She remembered what her father told her once, about how some people choose to live in chaos because it’s all they’ve ever known; he was right. Ky was used to being in constant threat, always looking over her shoulder, always second guessing, making sure everyone was taken care of. With that gone, how could she obtained a normal life without WCKD? That was a million dollar question. 

Everyone began hanging out, talking to everyone and sharing laughs with smiles. Left to right, Immunes were doing all sorts of things; sitting by the fire, playing on makeshift drums, dancing to an old fashioned radio that Eliza had scored from one of their many WCKD heists. Ky still sat on the wooden benches, urging Owe to go and hang out with his family, smiling to him. He asks if she’s sure since he didn’t mind staying with her but she still edged him on and he listened. 

Off Owe went, picking up Grayson and swinging him around happily while Alex clung to his leg. Nathan was speaking with Ricky down by the rock, watching as Immunes began chiseling names into the rock. Ben and Jolene shared a kiss as he spun her around to the music that was playing, them dancing the night away into a Lover’s Splendor. Linnah was next to them with Nicoletta, them holding hands and chose to take a walk on the beach to be by themselves. 

Frypan announced, “You all want some food?!” And with that, they all grouped over to the kitchen area and Frypan and four other people began serving plates. 

A few minutes later, Ricky walked up and sat next to Ky, looping her into a side hug. She smiled, fully realizing that she hadn’t actually met her older brother but he had already loved her so much. 

“I can’t you believe you’re here.”

“Yeah.” She nods. “Makes two of us.” 

He then furrowed his brow. “You not happy?” 

Ky shrugs. “I dunno what to do here. Like, I know that I’m not the only one who’s gone through things, we all have, but they know their place here. I don’t.” 

“It’ll take some time but you’ll figure it out eventually.” Ricky explained. “You’re not alone, just remember that. There’s a lot of people here to talk to, Little Me.” 

_ Little Me. _ It rings through her head and she nods. “R-I-C-K-Y.” He studies her for a moment, perplexed by the fact that she was remembering something from when they were littler. “You’re the one that nicknamed me Ky, after your K-Y . . . because I was just like you.” 

Ricky grinned fondly. “We get it from dad.” He chuckles, “we’re the most alike out of the bunch.” 

Ky then frowned, remembering about Teresa for a few seconds and even Liam. She tisks, “Do you know what happened? To Liam?” 

“He uh, he saved Lucas.” Ricky simply states. “In order to escape, they had to destroy their maze, bring it down. Their monsters where giant two headed lizards, one head would be blind and the other was deaf. They were chasing after them both . . . Well, as the place was crumbling down, Liam seen an avalanche of rock coming down towards Lucas and he ran over, shoving him out of the way which resulted in him being pummeled as well as the monster. Liam had the weight of stone all on him, choking up blood and Lucas just kept on apologizing to him over and over again because he was the older twin, and it should’ve been him.” 

Ky drew quiet, thinking about how hard it had been for him to witness his other half die in front of him. She then realized that he had witnessed it with her, watching her drift off into that sweet nothing. Recalling back to it, there was black but then a glow of warm light and she so badly wanted to follow it but heard a voice that was yelling for her to return. Still, she wanted to reach the end, to be immersed in the wonderful beauty, that was until one certain made her go back. Her mother, Rose. 

Teresa was right, she was a beautiful woman. Long medium blonde hair, blue eyes, and a motherly smile that could make everyone relaxed and calm just by seeing it. She has given Ky a hug, calling her by her real name of Carina, and told her to turn back to be with Lee, Lucas, and Ricky. In the midst of this, Rose had told her, “My dear, you do not look beautiful for being broken. However, you do look strong for carrying on as you do”. It had stuck with her and she kept it, doing as told and followed the noise that once called out to her. 

“Ky?” Owe had wandered up, smiling and tucking his hair behind his ears; it had grown longer, just barely grazing his shoulders. It was the exact same length as it used to be in the Isle. “You want to join me?” He holds his hand to her, then peers to Ricky. “If you don’t mind me, asking your sister to a dance. Of course.” 

“I’d be certainly disappointed if you didn’t. She likes you, you like her. Break your heart, I break your arm, it’s only fair.” He then nods, being serious. Owe instantly grew anxious but Ricky then broke into a laugh. “I’m only kidding . . . about the fair part. What would be fair is breaking both arms.” 

“Ricky.” She warns.

“I’m joking. I’m joking.” He raises his hands in defeat while Ky turned back to Owe, taking his hand and stood up, heading down the planks and onto the gravel where majority of couples were dancing. The song had shifted to a soft, indie melody that had some upbeats to it, providing a perfect slow dance for them all. 

Owe placed his hands high on her, right by her ribcage, not really sure where to place his hands and kinda stiffened because he wasn't sure if he was doing it right. Ky just blushed and heard that something was whispering behind her to Owe, telling him to move his hands down lower. It had been his father, Ben. Owe listens, his skinny fingers finding her sides and stay there while her slender arms place themselves up on his shoulders. The both began shifting their weight back and forth between their feet, slowly spinning in a circle under the stars. 

 

_ Torn down, full of aching _

_ Somehow our youth would take the blame _

_ Worn out, the way we let it stay _

 

Ky glanced around them, seeing Anne who looked miserable but was being talked to by Minho. To the right, Cass was sitting next to Sonya and Harriet, chatting and Barton was sitting in her lap as she scratched his head. Dean was talking to Aris and Jorge as they stood by the fire, keeping themselves warm. Mads and Charlie were with the smaller children, acting like nannies for them while Sasha was helping Frypan dish out more food for people.

 

_ Taught how to celebrate it _

_ All out, I’d replicate your pain _

_ Climb down, if only for a taste _

 

“You think we’re all damaged?”

The question had caught Owe off guard. “What’d you mean?”

“Cass, Anne, Dean  . . . Even my brother Lucas, all of us who went and experienced the Last City and what had happened there. Do you think we’re all damaged?” Owe didn’t even think about it, actually it never even crossed his mind which causes him to frown. Once Ky sees him doing so, she cupped his cheek, whispering a “sorry” and that shouldn’t have brought up. 

“I do think that.” Owe begins to say, nodding, “We all experienced trauma and it’ll manifest into symptoms and everyday things, even tiny details. Anne had started the moment we arrived; keeping quiet, limited talking, wanting to be by herself and hates loud noises.” 

Ky thought back to Linnah and how she was bruised in the traincart with Sonya and Aris. “What about Linnah? She displaying anything?” 

“Mistrust is the only thing I’m really picking up on, that’s why she clings to us Islers, Gladers, and Nicoletta. Apparently, from my little brother Gray, Linnah couldn’t believe that Jolene was her mother until she proof. It took two days to finally come around and call her mom.” 

“Poor girl.” 

“And Dean, seems to get irritated by small things to the point of crying. I had to comfort him early this morning, my heart was literally breaking in half for him.” 

 

_ Hallowed, but hesitated _

_ Shallow, but full in all your veins _

_ Shadowed by every other weight _

 

“What about you?” Ky gazed up. “What’s your diagnosis?” 

“Anxiety, which is not good for my heart. Could make it explode.” He lightly admits, chuckling to cover up the point of the matter and Ky seen right through it like it were a glass window. 

“And you’re making jokes to cover up the fear.” She ran her hand back through his hair, feeling his ends and how they curled outwards. “You mind telling me what has you scared?” 

“WCKD. Protocol calls for them to evacuate when there’s been an emergency and when that wall came down, Bergs from other WCKD compounds came and got the remaining workers out, taking them to other compounds to continue their work until they get infected. But some have the possibility of being Immune, and that’s a key factor because if they find this place, and us, it starts all over again. And I can’t have that. We shouldn’t have, he deserve to be safe . . .” 

Owe continued on, her feeling his pulse in his neck beating faster and faster and she didn’t want him to receive his chest pains so she told him to focusing on his breathing. She even did the techniques with him, coaching him through it and he calms. 

“It’s okay.” She whispers to him. “It’s alright. Just, focus on me. Focus on us dancing, this is happening now.” 

Ky was correct. He should be focusing on her, on them, in this moment. It gave him a moment of mental freedom, and that was something he needed desperately. 

 

_ Hollow, a doubt can make it _

_ Borrowed a love that never came _

_ Followed in every other shade _

 

By the rock, the knife and hammer was handed to Lucas and he chiseled Liam in the top right. He passed it off to Gally who then wrote Chuck, Gally lent it to Minho who wrote Newt’s name, and the line continued between the Gladers and Islers. Frypan wrote Winston, Cass wrote both Micky and Bridge, Aris wrote Rachel, Charlie wrote Samuel and Amirah. Dean had written Charles, Sasha written Bia, Mads did both Jo and Sarah, and Linnah did Jess. 

Vince then went, chiseling Mary and dusting her name off. Diego urged Lee to go up, to write Rose, and he did. He stared at her name for the longest time, haven’t written it in years and teared up from the sight of it. Lee turns, seeing Anne slowly stepping up and he handed her the knife; she took it in her left, getting the hammer with the right and pounded away, carving Quinn. 

 

_ Let it lead your love away _

_ I never strayed _

_ Let it bury you away _

_ In all your blame, in all your pain _

_ I will carry you always _

 

The song’s tempo sped up and everyone was twirling their partners, Owe and Ky included. They were all smiles and giggles, they letting loose and living in the spectacular now with the many other Immunes like them. It was clumsy mixed with a restored youth, and some buzzed people that haven’t felt such ecstasy in their lives. 

 

_ Let it lead your love away _

_ I never strayed _

_ Let it bury you away _

 

_ Fade me away, I won't ever be the same _

_ Fade me away, I won't ever be the same _

_ Fade me away, I won't ever be the same _

 

In the sky, among the stars, there twinkled the brightest one, shining down on all of them while the moon kissed their skin with it’s luminescence. 

It was late, everyone began heading to bed and Owe walked Ky to her hut, wishing her a goodnight and pointed out his hammock to where he was sleeping if she needed anything. She thanked him and off he went and in she gone, peering back around the little shack she awoke in. There was a chair that had a pair of clothes on it, resting, and she changed into them since they were cotton and it made for better material to sleep in. 

On the one little shelf, where the books laid, there was an old cracked mirror with the edges dirty and chipped. She stared at her reflection, seeing her scarred cheek and the biggest thing of all, the everlasting mark of a crank vein. Ky picked up her right hand, gently touching her bicep where a deep dark spot of a bruise was left and a small, darken blue and purple branched out vein. She figured it must’ve been very deep in order to not heal completely like her other ones; she’ll forever be marked by that. No amount of cure could erase it. 

Ky turns away, entering her bed and and pulls the sheets to her chest, letting her head hit the feather filled pillow and she closed her eyes. It was the fastest time she ever went to sleep; there was no thoughts to keep her awake, she just passed right on out—like a light. 

 

The vivid smell of smoke fills Ky’s nostrils, the heat is incredibly strong almost felt as if it were making the hairs on her arms singe off. Her eyes lock on Teresa, seeing her give one last hopeful smile before the building is torn out from underneath her and she falls back into the night. 

“Teresa! No! Teresa! Teresa!” 

Ky screams at the top of her lungs, feeling the arms of people trying to pull her back into the Berg, away from the edge. She fights against them, still screaming out for her sister, in tears. 

“Carina!”

“No, no! Teresa . . .” She whined. 

 

“Carina, wake up!” Lee got her to awake, seeing his frightened daughter in a cold sweat and eyeing him with huge, terrified eyes. “It’s okay.” He assures her, “it was just a nightmare. You’re safe.” 

Ky’s chest raised high and fell short, panting heavily. She then noticed two others in the room besides her father, Lucas and Owe, both who were deeply concerned and bothered by her atrocious cries. She sniffled, wiping away her tears and apologized for waking them all up. Lee tenderly kissed her head, telling her that it was okay, that he’s been through it before when he was a Marine. 

He used to get night terrors after their one helicopter had a grenade thrown into it, leaving him with tons of scars on his back and majority of his comrades dead. He was among two other people who weren’t killed and that left him mentally scarred for about two years. The image of that day was still ingrained into his brain, but he learned to control it with therapy and few medications. Ky will need to have that too, to try and help her move pass their struggles and to maintain a new life with a new start. All the kids would, especially Ramona and Linda’s daughter Anne who was such a good kid. 

“I’ll stay with you tonight.” Lee says, “just like old times.” Ky nodded and Lucas and Owe ended up leaving the shack, going to their hammocks to sleep for the night. Lee stayed directly by Ky’s side, watching her go back to sleep, but it take long for her to be screaming once again. 

This time, her screaming got worse, sounding feral and Lee couldn’t bring her out of her dream. Owe showed up, asking if she was alright but Lee was having a hard time, trying to get his daughter to awake. With quick wits, Owe suggested that he be gentle and coach her out of the dream. Not understanding what he meant, Owe took over, getting in besides Ky and wrapping his arms around her, rocking her back and forth. He began telling her to picture a sunset that was filled with soft colors of orange, pink, blue, and yellow. 

Ky’s whimpers calmed, her body leaning into Owe’s embrace and that’s when Lee finally understood what Ben had told him when they were on the ship. Owe had been with Ky ever since WCKD and no matter what they did to them, they still managed to find their way to each other. Owe had been there for her late nights, for her tears, for her smiles and laughs, even for her anger. All those things that Lee missed out on, Owe didn’t; he knew about Ky much more than he ever could. Slowly, Lee steps on out, leaving the two kids alone. 

Early into the next morning, Thomas had gotten Ky up like how Alby done to him when he stayed in the Glade, bringing her down to the rock with every single name of a person who’d died tried getting them all there. Thomas and her had a very deep conversation, them bonding down by the coastline and him grabbing the knife and hammer. He pauses for a moment, offering for her to take it to mark down Teresa’s name but she shook her head, allowing him to have the honor. She already had someone else in mind. 

Chipping away at the rock, he formed the letters, working his elbow and finally finished the A. He gradually gave it to Ky and she placed the blade right under were Teresa’s name was and began hammering out J-A-M-E-S. Ky softly smiled, stepping back and eyed it in full. Thomas pulled her into a side hug, staring at all the names and visualized the people that they’ve lost. 

It was bittersweet but sadly, there was nothing more to be done. 

The following week had been something else. Jolene had been a therapist before the world turned and offered her services to anyone to needed to be listened too; her weekly visits usually included Anne and Ky, and her own daughter Linnah. 

Anne had taken up on planting flowers, just a little hobby but it had done wonders for her and her social skills. She found herself speaking with Sonya, them two becoming good friends and hanging out often. They would even venture out on the boats, fishing with the others and even caught a few crabs. Anne also chose to cut her hair to her shoulders and gave herself bangs for a new and improved look. She grown happier but like all things, it was small steps at a time. She still couldn’t handle the smell and sight of fire at night whenever the littler kids made s’mores. Nonetheless, she was making progress. 

For Ky, the nightmares were the worse but what mattered to her was finding out what her purpose was, she wanted to know where she belonged in their perfect place. So Jolene suggested the best thing that was available, teaching the Immune children; to read them stories, teach them how to write, what left and right is, etc. And wouldn’t you know, Ky was a natural. The children took a liking to her, hanging onto her every word—especially when she was telling stories about Harbingers. She was so descriptive, using hand gestures, and making noises to add effect, that they were all transfixed. Even a few of the adults who stood by, over listening were. She was captivating. 

Nicoletta taught Linnah to swim and once she learned, they spent all their time boogie boarding. Linnah also found an old net that washed up on shore, having an idea to create a volleyball court for them all to play and get out any aggression that was pent up inside of them. And by that, Linnah had Dean in mind. With the power of determination, she had set up the net and Nicoletta  found them an inflatable ball to smack over back and forth. Islers, Gladers, Brenda, Sonya, Harriet, Aris, and few random Immunes joined in. The teams were separated between boys and girls, to make things interesting and it made good entertainment for those who were dating boys to mimic their teams when they lucked out on a point. 

Ky watched from afar, sitting in the sand and staring out at the waves, feeling the foam coming up on shore and splashing her feet with cool water. She smiles, wiggling her toes and seen someone sitting down right besides her. She already knew it was Owe. 

“So,” he props up his legs, resting his elbows on his kneecaps and clasps his hands together. “What do we do now?” 

She turns to him, smiling as a few flyaways blew out from her fishtail braid. “Hi, you look familiar. But I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Carina.” Ky teases.

Owe flashes a smile. “Alright, I’ll bite.” He jokes back, letting her know that he’ll play her game. “I’m Jake, nice to meet you. You know, I could’ve sworn that I knew a constellation by that name, but the person who told me about it was delirious from some infection.”

“I’ve heard delirious type of people can be quite entertaining. They can talk all day, never providing you with a dull moment.” Ky then furrows her brows, pushing her lips together as if she’s thinking hard. “Wasn’t the delirious person in love with you?”

He smiles. “Yeah. I love her, too.” 

Ky then acted shocked. “Hmm, interesting. She’s a lucky one.” She turns away, eyeing the waves while Owe kissed her bare shoulder.

“No, I’m the one who’s lucky.” 

She pecked him on the lips, moving into him as they began watching the sunset like how they’ve been doing every night before eating and heading to bed. “This place is already beginning to feel like home.” She whispered.

The safe have really did become a home for everyone. People found what they’ve been after for so many years—a fresh start. They’ll be the new start of humanity, one day. Having children of their own, telling them their history so no one’s doomed to repeat it, mention the friends and family that they’ve lost so they’re always remembered. They’ll be the warning of what could happen, the reminder of what had happened, and forever be the ones who survived. 


End file.
